I Would Give My Life For You
by KashinaKairi
Summary: This takes place during the second Quincy war. Not at any specific time. Tragedy befalls first squad, again. Will Kyoraku pull through, or will he be saved at the last minute. Doesn't really follow his story though. ;) This story does not have any connection with my other ones.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Bleach.

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~1st squad barracks~

Three people stood in a stand off. Two stood side by side in their black robes facing to third in his white robes. Neither side moved, till an explosion outside broke the tension.

"Hado 54: Haien!" Flames erupted but missed the white clothed figure. The female that shot the kido quickly avoided the barrage of arrows shot her way.

"That will not work against me." The white clothed figure shifted his gaze towards the man attacking him. He easily dodged and backed away from the Soutaichou. "A man that wears pink so blatantly must have no shame."

"Oh. Is that so?" Kyoraku Shunsui looked up at the man. "And what would a Quincy know about shame?" The Soutaichou's gaze stayed on the Quincy.

"Shakkaho!" Kyoraku smiled as one of his Fukutaichou's launched another kido at the Quincy.

He charged towards the Quincy. "Katen Kyokotsu" he released his zanpakutou, not wanting to give that Quincy an advantage at any point. He just sliced through air. "He seems strong doesn't he, Nanao-chan." He waited for a reply, but he didn't get one. "Nanao-chan?"

"Would you be talking about this one?" Kyoraku looked towards the voice of the Quincy. "She's quite strong, and very good proficient at her kido. She just doesn't have the best timing." Kyoraku tensed as the dust cleared. "Now, now Soutaichou-san. Let's not make any irrational decisions, shall we?" The Quincy smiled gently while he had his arms holding Ise Nanao's head in a vice grip.

"Nanao." Shunsui held his blades firmly in his grasp. 'If I use Bankai, I can get her away safely. But he needs to change his grip first.' His face tensed ever so slightly.

Nanao stood still in the Quincy's grasp. She knew exactly what kind of hold she was in. If she moved at all, she would die. She had lost her zanpakutou earlier when he had caught her. 'Yutsuya Kitsune would be quite useful right now.' She looked towards her Taichou, he was ready to fight. 'No matter what he does, I will most likely die. That's what he wants. If he causes Shunsui to get angry enough and feel like he has nothing left to lose, he will use his Bankai. Then this guys can steal it. How can I stop that?' Nanao scanned her mind for a plan, she couldn't think fast enough.

"Tick Tock Taichou. What will it be? Will you drop your zanpakutous, or will the girl die? Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven..." The Quincy started counting down.

Nanao and Shunsui stared at each other. For once, neither knew what the other was going to do.

Shunsui tensed as he was about to use his Bankai. Nanao noticed his movement and decided to act first. "Sorry for being cruel." She caught Shunsui off guard and he just looked at his Fukutaichou with confusion. The Quincy counted to 'Two'. "I love you, Shunsui"

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I know I'm cruel. Please leave a comment on what you think so far.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Bleach.

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~1st squad barracks~

Shunsui watched in slow motion as Nanao spoke three words he had longed to hear. She had tears rolling down her cheeks and a smile on her face. His trance was broken by a loud *SNAP*. "BANKAI!" He wasn't conscious of the words he spoke. His eyes never left his Fukutaichou.

The Quincy was impressed by the shinigami's actions. "Most impressive, Soutaichou-san. Although, I don't see why you bothered. You managed to use your Bankai and reseal it before I could take it, but all you got for your efforts, was a corpse." He looked at the shinigami behind him holding onto the woman he had just killed by snapping her neck. He had been very humane , in his own mind.

Shunsui held Nanao in his arms. He had dropped Katen Kyokotsu beside him. "Nanao! Nanao!" She was limp in his arms, she was already growing cold. His throat burned with tears and his chest was tight. He couldn't feel her Reiatsu and her eyes had no life in them.

"I love you." He looked onto his shoulder, he could have sworn he had heard Nanao's voice. A hell butterfly sat on it staring at him. "Shunsui. I'm sorry for being cruel." Nanao's voice came out of the butterfly. Shunsui reached up to touch the butterfly when it burst into flames.

"Flames of Rebirth. Looks like your little Nanao-chan will live again, but she won't know who you are. How sad." The Quincy gave the shinigami a deadly glare. He laughed at the pained expression on his opponents face.

Kyoraku wasn't paying attention. He was replaying Nanao's words in his mind. "Nanao. I love you too. I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Nanao." A tear ran down his cheek.

~somewhere else~

"Nanao-chan...Nanao-chan!" 'Who is calling me? It doesn't sound like anyone I know. Who is this girl?' "Nanaoooooooo-Chaaaaaaaaaan!" Nanao lifted her head off the desk slowly. She looked around her to see people staring at her. She didn't know who any of them where. "Are you okay, Nanao-chan? You never fall asleep in class." A girl with short blond hair stared at her with worry.

"Who are you?" Nanao asked while trying to clear the fog out of her head. She looked around herself. "Where am I?"

The small girl looked at her even more worried. "Sensei! I think Nanao-chan needs to go to the nurse!" The girl pulled Nanao out of her chair and walked her to the nurses office down the hall. "Unahana-Sensei! I think there is something wrong with Nanao-chan. She doesn't know who I am!" The girl acted dramatically.

A woman with long black hair that hung down loosely turned to the girls that had walked into the office. "Don't worry, Chidori-san. I'll look after Ise-san. You can head back to class." At the woman's gentle encouragement, the small blond headed back to the classroom. "How are you feeling, Ise-san?" The nurse gestured for Nanao to sit on the bed.

Nanao sat down and stared at the woman in front of her. She looked like Unahana-Taichou, but with a different hairstyle. "I just don't know where I am, what day it is, or who all these people are." She hoped she didn't sound crazy, but once the words left her mouth she knew she did.

"Don't worry. It happens to most shinigami with a high enough Reiatsu. Although it usually only happens to members of the Royal guard. You must have been keeping secrets, Ise-Fukutaichou." Unahana smiled at the girl as she checked her health.

Nanao continued to stared at the woman. 'This IS Unahana-Taichou?! How?!' She felt like she was going to black out. "I may have suppressed more of my Reiatsu than most, but not by much." She really hadn't thought of herself as strong. If she had been strong, then she wouldn't have been caught or killed-. Nano touched her hand to her neck. "Unahana-Taichou? Are there any bruises on my neck?"

"It's just Unahana-sensei, Ise-san. There aren't any bruises that I can see." Unahana sat down in a chair facing Nanao. "Why do you ask?"

Nanao took a shuddering breath. She could clearly remember the look of horror on Shunsui's face before she blacked out, died. "I died. I had my neck snapped. Where am I?" Nanao looked up towards the woman she knew.

Unahana frowned at Nanao's words. "You remember your death that clearly?" She got a nod from the girl. "Do you wish to go back?" She got another nod. "It's currently June 1st. This is a small high school not far from Karakura town. You can get there in a few hours if you take the train." She smiled at Nanao.

Nanao looked at Unahana in shock. "June 1st?" She got up and walked to the window. "I died on June 20th." She noticed a calendar on the wall. 'Same year as well. How did that happen? Wait Unahana-san is here, but she died days ago, I think.' She turned back to the school nurse. "How long have you been here?"

Unahana smiled at the girl. "I have been here for almost a year now. The principal has been here for almost five." She had guessed Nanao would be able to figure out who he was.

"Yamamoto-Soutaichou?!" Nanao was shocked. How many dead Taichous were here? She ran a hand through her short hair. 'Short?' She walked over to the mirror and looked at herself in shock. Her once shoulder length straight hair, was now cropped short to just above her ears and in a messy pixie cut. She didn't have any glasses on, but her eyes had gotten more vibrant. They were now a bright purple instead of their regular indigo color. "How did I get like this? I look like how I did back before I entered the academy. Well, except for the eyes, but still."

She examined herself more. She could have sworn she had gotten taller, and she had definitely grown in cup size. 'How did I get these?! They must be at least a C!'

Unahana laughed a bit at the girl. "This is what your soul naturally looks like. If you are planning to head back to Seireitei, I suggest you leave now. Here is a note in case a teacher stops you in the hall. Good luck." She handed the young girl a slip of paper and ushered her out of the small office.

Nanao looked down at the note then back at the door. She bowed then headed down the hall to what she hoped was the exit. 'Hold on Shunsui. I'm coming.' She picked up her pace as she saw the entrance to the school in front of her.

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Please leave a comment? And don't forget to like my story.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Bleach.

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~Karakura town~

After about four hours of being on a train and having to switch several times because she had gotten on the wrong train, Nanao finally stepped out onto the streets of Karakura Town. It was night fall and there was no one nearby. Nanao looked around her and shivered slightly. She was still in her summer uniform, but that didn't mean the nights were warm.

'What Shunsui would give to see me dressed like this.' She held her skirt down with one hand as she held her bag in the other. One of her classmates had caught her as she left and had given it to her. She started walking, despite not knowing where she was headed. "Now. Which way is Urahara's shop again?" She looked around once she reached a corner.

She scanned the area with her Reiatsu, but didn't find anything. "He's probably hiding the place. I should keep my Reiatsu down just in case Soul Society notices it."

"Who's going to notice what, pretty lady?" Nanao turned to find four men walking up behind her. They looked like delinquents. "You lost?"

"No. Please leave me alone." Nanao walked away from them. She didn't know where she was heading, but she didn't let it show.

"Where's the uniform from?" The four followed her, but Nanao ignored them. "Come on. Just a little hint. We won't hurt you, or do anything you don't want to happen." The four snickered as they picked up their pace.

The obvious leader of the group reached out towards Nanao. "Hey! Look at people when-" he was cut off by a solid hit to the face With her bag. She had noticed it had several large hard cover books in it while on the train.

Nanao glared death at the other three. "Leave. Now." She pulled her fist back into a ready position. She was half tempted to let out some steam on these four.

They tentatively reached for their fallen friend, then quickly ran away from the girl. "Demon!" They yelled as they ran.

"Idiots." Nanao slid her finger up her nose. She remembered after that she had no glasses to fix. "Old habits die hard I guess." She turned around as a figure walked towards her clapping.

"I was almost certain you were just going to beat them up. You have remarkable self control, Ise-Fukutaichou." A woman wearing an orange sweater with purple hair walked into the lamplight. "What are you doing here instead of in Seireitei? Isn't there some war going on?"

"Shihoin Yorichi. Yes there is a war, but I'm in a bit of a predicament." Nanao approached the former Taichou cautiously. "I seem to have died, then came back in a time before I died. I need to get back to Soul Society. There is someone I need to protect."

Yorichi grinned at the girl. "And how do you plan to do that without any powers?"

"I was hoping Urahara-san could help with that." Nanao was now standing in front of the woman. She looked into her cat like eyes.

Yorichi turned and started walking back towards Urahara's shop. "He's not here, but I might be able to help. Come along. How much time do you have?"

Nanao quickly followed after Yorichi. "I have to be in Seireitei for the 20th of June." Nanao didn't know how she was going to get her shinigami powers back, but she hoped it wouldn't take as long as it had in the Academy.

Yorichi grinned. "That's plenty of time. Shall we start tonight?"

Nanao smiled happily. "That would be great. Thank you, Yorichi-sama."

~training grounds under Urahara's shop~

Nanao stretched her limbs. It felt good to be in a shihakusho again. "I never thought I would miss this outfit. I quite like the fit of this one. Why isn't it offered as a standard uniform?" Nanao wore a uniform similar to Sui-Feng-Taichou's, but it was free flowing at the bottom and she wore her regular sandals.

"Most women don't like the open back. Plus it's mostly only useful for those who know how to use Shunko. Which I intend to teach you, eventually." Yorichi sat on a rock as she watched the girl get use to being a soul again. She was a little weary of the girl. She had gotten her powers back through Hollowfication, but she didn't Hollowfy what-so-ever. Just became a shinigami with a mask. A creepy mask that looked like a grinning cat. "Your Reiatsu seems to have gotten higher."

Nanao shrugged at the woman. "I'm just not holding back as much as I normally do." She felt stretched and ready. "So how exactly do I get Yutsuya Kitsune back?"

"You don't." Nanao stared behind her. Yamamoto stood there, but he looked younger and didn't have any scars on his face. "Your zanpakutou died when you were reborn. You can not get him back, but a new zanpakutou has appeared in your soul. Eventually you will forget about your old one." Yamamoto spoke firmly, he felt like he was disciplining Shunsui again.

"Yamamoto-sama." Nanao was disappointed to hear his words. She would miss her zanpakutou. "Alright so I need to summon my new zanpakutou." Nanao sat down in lotus position and concentrated. She soon felt herself draw into her inner world.

Nanao opened her eyes tentatively. She found herself in a ring of light. A faint laugh could be heard. "Come out. I know you're there."

"You hear that brother? She says she knows we are here." The voice laughed again.

"I heard." The last was a little deeper than the first.

"Always so quiet. Why don't we play with our new toy? She seems like fun. I wonder what her laugh sounds like." Nanao turned as she heard the sound of metal scraping against metal behind her. "Is it sweet like music? Or does it sound like a madman's laugh?"

Nanao held her ground. "You two seem to want to play. You sound like my Taichou's zanpakutou." Nanao laughed at the comparison.

"You know some one who likes to play with toys too? I want to meet them! Can we meet them?" A cat stepped into the ring of light. It was purple with black stripes. "Come on brother! Let's go meet them!"

"Calm yourself." A black cat with purple stripes walked in behind the first.

Nanao looked at the two cat. She had two zanpakutou spirits? "I don't know how Katen Kyokotsu would take to you. They prefer playing games instead of with toys."

The purple cat looked disappointed. "Well that's too bad. Can we still meet them? It's rather dull in here with no one to play with. It's driving me a little out of my mind." The cat's body rolled over onto the air while it's head stayed upright with it.

Nanao at first was surprised, then something caught her eye. She smiled at the cat. "Nice little trick, Chishitoge."

The purple cat smiled at her. "Nice guess, Nanao-chan. What's his name?" He walked over to the black cat and jumped on top of him.

"..." The black cat didn't move. It just looked up at Nanao.

Nanao smiled at the two cats. "He doesn't talk much does he." She got a wide grin for Chishitoge. It creeped her out a bit. "It's always the quite ones that are the scariest. Right, Chibara?" She walked towards the two cats. "So what is this place?" She tried to see beyond the circle of light.

Chishitoge stepped out of the light. "Come into the darkness and see. Unless you are afraid of the dark?"

Nanao smirked as she picked Chibara up. He climbed up her chest and settled on her left shoulder. She walked out of the light and found an interesting sight. Broken dolls were scattered everywhere. Large ones, small ones, even some as big as one of the division buildings. "Who knew my inner world could be so creepy?"

"You are quite a silent and secretive person, Nanao-chan. Not even dear Shunsui knows how dark you can be. He just sees the pretty little flower you show him." Chishitoge walked on the air beside Nanao. He hopped onto Nanao's free shoulder as she continued on.

Nanao soon found herself infront of a large, broken bird cage I a large circle of dolls. She walked into it and looked around. It had what looked like multiple spiderwebs running everywhere, but there where no spiders to be found. "What is this place called?"

"Marionette's Graveyard." Chibara spoke as he jumped down from Nanao's shoulder.

Nanao nodded at the name. "It certainly fits. Never knew I was this dark inside." She sat down on the swing in the centre of the cage.

The purple cat chuckled. "It's no wonder. You emit all of your light out wards. So it makes sense that all of your darkness is inside. Ne?" Chishitoge curled up beside his brother. "You should go before they start to worry. After all, we have a lot of work to do, don't we?"

Nanao smiled at the two cats. "Yes, yes we do." She knelt down and scratched them both behind their ears. They purred happily. Nanao closed her eyes and pulled herself out of her inner world.

Nanao opened her eyes to find Yorichi sitting far away from her and Yamamoto nowhere in sight. "Where did Yamamoto-sama go?" She looked toward the purple haired woman.

Yorichi had jumped and fallen off the rock at her question. "Don't scare me like that! First you start cackling like a madman, than you decide to scare the heck out of me. Give me a break." Yorichi scratched her head. There weren't many people that scared her. This girl had creeped her out the moment she delved into her inner world. An aura seeped around her that felt like someone trying to claw their way into your soul. It gave her chills. "Now that you have your zanpakutou back, let's begin shall we. We have 18 days to get you strong enough to fight and win. Which probably means you're going to have to get Shikai and Bankai in a very short amount of time. Think you can do it?"

Nanao picked up her two zanpakutou. Both were a wakizashi. She placed one on each hip so she could draw both at the same time. She stretched again after have sat for a while. She took a ready position with her feet spread apart and her arms ready. "Ready." She held her position. 'This time, I will not be volnerable.'

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Please like my story and leave a comment.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Bleach.

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~Urahara's shop~

It had been a week since Nanao had gotten her zanpakutou, but she still didn't know how to unseal them. She tried meditating for hours and practicing for hours, but it didn't seem to help. She lounged on a rock in the training area with her zanpakutou in the tie of her uniform. 'This is taking longer than I though. I have less than two weeks to be able to rescue Shunsui.'

'Every thought that the outcome might be different?' Chishitoge mused. 'Maybe he saves you this time?'

Nanao had never really thought about the possibility that it might go differently this time around. 'It doesn't matter. As long as he doesn't die. I would give anything for that.'

'Even your second chance at having a life?' Chibara spoke softly.

Nano closed her eyes and relaxed. She needed to concentrate, not daydream about Shunsui. His soft smile on his unshaven face. His velvet voice when he whispered in her ears as his beard tickled her cheek. His large hands-

Nanao slapped her face to pull herself out of her dreams. She jumped off the rock and pulled out her zanpakutous. She had become ambidextrous while she had filled out forms and had to sigh for Kyoraku-Taichou. He sighed all of his forms with his left hand, despite being right handed. She never understood that.

She swung them around in fluid motions as she concentrated. She could feel her power rising, wanting to be released. She could feel something under her feet and a whisper of something in her ears.

Yorichi watched as the young girl danced with her zanpakutou. She had moved back as she watched the ground go dark and a purple mist rise from it. She could almost swear she could hear laughter coming from the girl. It sounded like a madman, a killer.

Nanao kept moving till she could almost feel the words on her tongue. She held them up in front of her. She held the hilts with her palm and the blade with her fingers. She opened her eyes slightly and noticed the purple mist swirling around her. She smiled for reasons she did not know. Her smile turned into a wicked grin. "Laughter permeates the stagnant air, madness rises from the blood soaked ground. Chibara Chishitoge."

Nanao pulled her hands apart. She looked down at both her hands. A claw covered each figure tip and chains connected each claw to cuffs around her wrists. She smiled at her zanpakutou's true form. 'So we like doing things personally. I like that.'

'Of course we do. What better way is there?' Chishitoge chuckled at his master. 'Looks like the other cat wants to play.'

Nanao turned to Yorichi, the woman seemed to want to keep her distance at the moment. Nanao focused on the dark ground around her and willed it to shrink. It did and so did the mist. It reduced until it was gone. "That was surprisingly easy." Nanao could hear Chishitoge snicker, she ignored him.

"Looks like we're a third of the way there. Let's move on to Shunko. That way you can get used to your Shikai before you try to get Bankai." Yorichi really didn't have a good feeling about going against the girl's zanpakutou, but it needed to be done. "Shunko is using kido on your body as you fight hand to hand. How good are you at hand to hand?"

Nanao had never been one for physical fighting. She was much better at kido. "I've sparred with Kyoraku-Taichou, but I'm still not that skilled." Nanao ran her hand through her hair. She still had trouble remembering how short it was, but it was growing on her. She had also broken her nervous habit of pushing her glasses up, but now it was tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Good enough." Yorichi attacked without waiting for Nanao to be ready.

Nanao managed to block the kick with one of her hands. The chains dug into her skin, but didn't hurt to much. She leaned back and deflected the rest of the blow. She placed her hands down and twisted sideways.

Yorichi easily blocked Nanao's kick. She launched at the girl again once she had footing. She kicked downwards this time.

Nanao brought both her hands up this time. She grunted as the kick landed. This was going to be difficult. "Hado 33: Sokatsu." A small ball shot off of each finger tip. All missed the nimble cat woman. 'What was that?'

'Your a kido kind a gal. So we're a kido kind a cats. You like?' Chishitoge sung in his laughing voice. Nanao could tell he was enjoying himself.

'What else can you both do?' She smiled at the thoughts and scenarios going through her head.

'Keep fighting.' Chibara spoke calmly.

Nanao knew her less talkative zanpakutou was right. He usually was when he spoke. She shot off at Yorichi. She used complicated Shunpo techniques to try and confuse her.

"Nice. You've gotten faster." Yorichi struck out in front of her. Nanao barely blocked the attack. "You're still not fast enough to fool me though, but Sui-Feng might have a run for her money." Yorichi let out an onslaught of attacks.

Nanao manage to block most, but not all. She was struck in the shoulder and made a fairly large crater in the ground. Yorichi landed at the top of the crater. "Done already?"

"Nope." Yorichi hadn't realized Nanao was behind her. She kicked the purple haired woman across the crater. "Dress-Up. Pretty convincing doll, don't you think?" Nanao rolled her shoulder. This move didn't block all of the damage, but it blocked most of it.

"Doll? When did you switch?" Yorichi stretched her shoulder. She was going to be sore in the morning. This girl was good.

"When I tried to confuse you. I'm not the strongest fighter, but I certainly have a strong mind." Nanao smiled as she watched the doll of herself crumble into dust. "Shall we continue? Or do you need a break?" Nanao pulled her arms up in time to block another attack. "I'll take that as a continue." Nanao smiled as she counter attacked.

~several hours later~

Nano and Yorichi lounged in the hot springs. They were both sore and covered in scrapes and cuts.

Yorichi smiled at the girl beside her. "You're not bad. You're stronger than you look and what you think. You'll be really strong with Shunko. Mostly because of your strength with kido. How high can you go without an incantation?" Yorichi could have sworn the girl had used at least a level 80 without an incantation.

Nanao smirked at the woman. Had she actuall praised her? "I can go pretty high. The highest I went was with a few forbidden kidos and some sorcery ones." Nanao flushed a bit with embarrassment. She had found a book of forbidden kido and had practiced a few in secret and also quite a few very powerful sorcery spells.

Yorichi laughed at the girl's reaction to her confession. "Is that so. Well that's good. At least you can pull a few curve balls. Not many people know about forbidden kidos, and only the kido squad members know about sorcery kidos. Let alone know how to use them. How many do you know?"

"All the way up to the kido canon. I never knew it was actually a forbidden kido sealed in a solid form to make it legal to use." Nanao was hoping the woman didn't know exactly how many kidos that was.

Yorichi stared at the girl. 'She knows all 20 forbidden kido. Not bad.' Yorichi guessed there was probably more, but she only knew of 20. Not that she could use any, they needed a large amount of Reiatsu.

Yorichi climbed out of the hot water. "That was relaxing. Shall we continue?" Yorichi was pleased at the progress Nanao was making. 'She'll have Shunko mastered by the end of the week probably.'

Nanao climbed out and used a kido to dry her self off before putting her shihakusho back on.

Once the two were dressed they stood and faced each other. Yorichi let her kido crackle across her shoulders. Nanao focused and let her kido do the same. It swam over her body in fluid motions. It was a bright red color.

Yorichi grinned. "Seems as if you are quite a creepy person on the inside. First the evil laughing, and now your Shunko element is water and it's the colour of fresh blood. Very creepy, Nanao-chan."

Nanao smiled at the woman's words. "Everyone has to have a bit of darkness. Otherwise did they really ever have any light in them?" Nanao smiled as she heard her zanpakutou purr.

"Yorichi-dono." A man with braided hair walked up to the two women. "We have lost contact with Urahara-dono and the others. It seems access to Soul Siciety has become impossible."

"What?!" Nanao stared in disbelief at the man.

"Try to get back in contact, Tessai." Yorichi stayed calm. There was no point in worrying about something that already happened.

The man bowed before he left leaving the women to continue their training.

Nanao was too worried about how to get to Soul Society to train. She didn't notice Yorichi getting close till she had placed a hand on her shoulder. Nanao looked into the other woman's face. "What now?"

"We continue of course. Not much else to do." Yorichi walked away from her to take her position again. "If you are strong enough to do what you have set out to, then don't worry about what is to come, because you are already determined to overcome them." Yorichi started her Shunko again and waited for Nanao's answer.

Nanao thought about the woman's words. 'She's right. I was to worried about so many other things, that I never got to spend the time I wanted with Shunsui. I won't let that happen again.' Nano let her Shunko run over her arms and legs. "I'm ready." The two shot off at each other with deadly speed.

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Please leave a comment or a question that you might have.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Bleach.

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~a few days later~

Nanao was sore everywhere. She didn't realize how hard training to get back to where she was would be so hard. She was taking a break today to get a bit of rest. She had ten more days till she had to leave, and she could feel something wasn't quite right with her.

'Take it easy there, Nanao-chan. We have time still.' Chishitoge seemed relaxed, but there was a hint of worry in his voice. 'It's a nice day for a walk. Let's go!'

Nanao sighed at her zanpakutou. It was a rather nice and sunny day. A walk would be wonderful, but it would have been better with Shunsui. His large warm hand holding hers's. Them laying under a tree on his pink haori as they cuddled. Sharing a few-

Nanao pulled herself out of her dream before it went any farther. 'He's my Taichou, and the Soutaichou.' She pulled her shoes on and went for a walk. She was glad Urahara had clothes in his closets, but not happy that Yorichi had picked her outfit. She wore purple and black striped tights with a short pleated denim skirt and a studded belt. For a shirt she had a three-quarter sleeve black shirt with a ripped purple tank top over it. She was just glad she got a pair of sneakers instead of boots. She already felt different enough without the outfit.

Nanao let out a deep sigh. "Why couldn't I have kept my look? I had it perfect and everything." She kept walking down the street. "Shunsui, please be safe." She bit her lip knowing what was going on. "He's probably already the Soutaichou by now, which means he has already lost his right eye." Nanao couldn't help but let a tear fall down her face.

She reached up to wipe it away, but someone else beat her to it. Nanao jumped back defensively and tripped on her one feet. "Ow." She glared up at the person. "What the- Yadomaru-sempai?"

Lisa looked down on the small girl with shock. This cute girl knew her name? Lisa knelt down and looked her in the eye. 'She has beautiful eyes. They remind my of my cute little Nanao-chan.'

Nanao stared back into her mentor's eyes. "Yadomaru-sempai? Please move out of my personal space. I'm still not going to be your lover." Nanao hoped Lisa would remember who she was and not act like she normally did.

Lisa's eyes widened in surprise. She picked the girl up in her arms and spun around with her. "It is, it is. It's my lovely Nanao-chan."

Nanao rolled her eyes before laughing with the girl she had not seen in at least a century. "Yes, yes it's me, but I'm not your Nanao-chan. I'm Shunsui's." Nanao blushed a bit at her own confession.

Lisa put the girl down and looked at her. She smiled when she saw the blush. "Aww. My cute Nanao-chan finally realized her feelings for the old pervert." Lisa patted Nanao on the head.

Nanao glared at her mentor. "He's not a pervert, he's a romantic. It can get annoying and overbearing at times, but that's who he is."

Lisa smiled back at her pupil, but not fully. She could feel something wasn't quite right with the girl. "Are you feeling okay? When did you decide to change your look?" She ruffled Nanao's hair.

Nanao got her hair back to how it was. "Well...you see...I kind of...sort of...died. In Soul Society, and apparently when a powerful soul dies, they get reborn. This is what my soul naturally looks like. It looked like this before I entered the Academy." Nanao played with her outfit, but not her belt. She had messed with it a few times, and it always ended with her zanpakutou falling from also tucked and untucked her hair from her ear repeatedly.

Lisa was shocked to say the least. "That bastard didn't protect you! I'm gonna kill that son-"

Nanao slapped Lisa across the face. "He didn't fail to protect me. I protected him, and I would do it again. Even though I know he will probably throw his life away after, but I couldn't bear to see him die first." Nanao found herself in tears again and crying in Lisa's arms.

"There, there Nanao-chan. It's okay, it's okay." Lisa rubbed Nanao's back and waited for her to stop crying as she ignored the pain in her cheek. She could feel the strange presence she felt around the girl earlier more now. "Nanao? If you died and came back, how are you a shinigami again?"

Nanao wiped her eyes. "I went to Urahara's shop. It wasn't that difficult really, but apparently it's suppose to be."

Lisa looked at her in worry. "You mean you went through Hollowfication?!" She got a small nod from the girl. She quickly picked Nanao up bridal style, with a squeak from the girl. "You're so cute, Nanao-chan." She pecked her on the cheek before running off towards the warehouse.

Nanao didn't know where she was going. She was too stunned by Lisa's old tack ticks for shutting her up still worked. When they got to the warehouse Lisa set Nanao back on her feet. "I can do that myself. I can easily keep up with Kyoraku-Taichou."

"What happened to using his given name? You were using that earlier with no problem." She draped an arm over Nanao's shoulder and led her into the warehouse. "Oi! Hacchi! Can you put a barrier up downstairs?!"

Nanao's eyes widened as she caught sight of the other Viasards. She kept walking beside Lisa. "Um...why did you bring me here, Yadomaru-sempai?"

Lisa led the girl down a large staircase into an underground training area. She walked out to an open space and was glad Nanao had followed her. "Try to make it the strongest one you've got, Hacchi!" Lisa kept her eyes on Nanao as she spoke.

Nanao didn't know what was going on. "Yadomaru-sempai?" Nanao felt like she was a small child again.

"You need to conquer your inner Hollow." Lisa drew her zanpakutou. "Try putting your mask on. It will make this quicker."

Nanao didn't know what Lisa was talking about, but nodded anyway. 'Mask? What mask?'

'My mask of course!' Nanao doubled over with a sharp pain in her head. She tried to force it back, but stopped. 'Ho! You gonna let me take over!? That's wonderful!'

Nanao concentrated and drew herself and the strange voice into her inner world.

Lisa held her ground as Nanao's Hollow began Hollowfying the girl's body. "Don't lose, Nanao."

~Nanao's inner world: Marionette's Graveyard~

Nanao sat on the head of a broken doll. She was waiting for the voice to speak again.

"Come out, come out. I know you're here little girl. So come out and fight!" Nanao watched as an exact copy of herself attacked random dolls. Although it was an exact copy. It had white hair and bright green eyes. Nanao found out she could see through the eyes of other dolls, so she watched from a safe distance. "WHERE ARE YOU! COME FIGHT ME!" The Hollow destroyed another doll.

Nanao sighed as she jumped off the doll she was sitting on and walked towards the white haired fake. She wasn't paying attention to Nanao. "I don't fight. I play." Nanao gave the girl a wicked grin as she dodged an attack and cut off one of the girl's arms. "Aww. I'm sorry. Let me fix that!" Nanao moved and sliced off the other arm. The girl screamed loudly to Nanao's delight. "What a lovely sound. Make it again." Nanao grinned madly at the Hollow in front of her.

It continued on till the girl was nothing more than her upper torso and her head, still alive and screaming. "KILL ME ALREADY!" The girl had tears down her face.

Nanao looked at the girl with a confused look. She didn't want to stop playing. She felt two sets of paws on her shoulders. "I think we've had enough fun. Let's just get rid of it. We don't need another toy, especially a broken one." Nanao nodded at the purple cat.

Both cats jumped off their master's shoulders towards the white haired girl. "Be gone." Chibara spoke as a black hole surrounded the girl and began swallowing her up. Her skin began to dissolve were the purple mist touched it.

"Your one crazy bit-" Her voice was lost to the black hole.

Nanao found herself on her knees once she was gone. She looked down at her bloody hands. "What happened to me?"

Her two cats put a paw on her lap. "We're sorry. We should have told you. The black circle is our 'Playground'. Any blood within it, yours or the enemies, you will get stronger, but at the price of your sanity. But you will get it back once you get rid of the Playground." Chishitoge jumped on Nanao's lap and rubbed against her chest. "Are you scared?"

Nanao looked down at her zanpakutou and smiled. "No. I'm not scared. I've never been scared of much, just losing Shunsui. That scares me most, and if scaring him let's him live then I can live with that." She hugged them both. "Besides, I know he has darkness in him too. I just don't know how much." Nanao could feel tears prickling the back of her eyes, but she didn't let them fall.

The cats purred in her arms as she pulled herself out of her inner world.

She opened her eyes to find herself staring at the ceiling. "So you finally woke up?" Nanao looked over to see Lisa bandaged up. "Don't worry about these. You got stronger since I last saw you. I'm glad." Nanao returned Lisa's smile.

She sat up slowly. "Well I was a child the last time you saw me. How long have I been out?" She stretched her muscles. She knew she was going to be sore the next day.

"We started yesterday and finished the fight about an hour later. You were out for a while. And I have actually seen you since then, you just didn't see me. What happened in there?" Lisa had been worried when the girl had not woken up after having defeated her inner Hollow.

Nanao looked away from Lisa and let her bangs cover her eyes. "Nothing important." She got up and walked towards her mentor. "Thank you for your help, Yadomaru-sempai." Nanao bowed then continued walking towards the stairs.

Lisawas even more worried, but knew the girl wouldn't open up if she forced her to. Lisa followed the girl to the door of the warehouse. "Will you be okay, Nanao-chan?"

Nanao turned and smiled at the Vaisard. "I'll be fine. Now I have another weapon to protect Shunsui with."

Lisa smiled at the girl and pulled her into a hug. "When did that romantic steal you from me? You were such a cute innocent girl. You had more power than you could handle, but you never felt incline to use it. What changed you?" She spoke softly into the girl's ear.

Nanao smiled as she answered. "I met someone who would give their life for me, and I would give mine for his. I fell in love with the stupid romantic, and he already loved me." Nanao laughed thinking of all the times she had rejected Shunsui's advances, she had really liked them all. Even the outrageous ones. "He changed me, and I'm pretty sure it's for the best."

Lisa held Nanao at arms length. "My little Nanao-chan grew up, and is no longer mine. Take care of yourself, okay?" Then pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

"I will. I promise." With that Nanao turned and walked away from the warehouse. She had more training to do and nine days to do it in. 'Let's get Bankai, shall we?'

'Good luck with that one.' Chishitoge sang. 'We aren't that easy to beat. And if you don't, you die.'

Nanao laughed out loud, but no one was there to hear it. 'Dont worry. I have no intentions of dying. Ever.'

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Please leave a comment or a question that you might have.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Bleach.

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~Urahara's shop: underground training area~

Nanao laid down, completely exhausted. "Do you wanna stop?" She looked towards the rock with a purple cat on it. "We can end this now if you want."

Nanao got to her feet. "Not a chance. I still got one more day. And that's all I got, and all I need." She use shunpo to get behind the cat, but his brother was there to block. "Shunko." Both cats jumped off the rock before it was blown to pieces. Nanao quickly followed after.

"You can't beat us with that sane mind of yours." Chishitoge taunted Nanao as he darted around her.

Nanao looked out of the corner of her eyes and grinned. "I think I lost that a while back." Nanao released another Shunko, but this time at the ground at her feet. She was thrown back from the blast and laid on a rock. Her shoulder felt dislocated and her feet were sore. 'Not doing that again.'

Two cats lay beside her. "Not bad, Nanao-chan." Chishitoge opened his eyes slightly, but otherwise didn't move. "Looks like she got us, brother."

Chibara nodded as he curled up more. Both zanpakutous began to glow and disappear. They floated back into Nanao's soul. 'Now we are ready.' Chibara spoke firmly.

"Yep." Nanao stood up slowly and started back towards the ladder. She found Yorichi and Tessai walking away from the ladder. "Is something wrong?"

Yorichi looked the girl in the eyes. "There is a problem. We can still open a Senkaimon, but we can't guarantee that you can get to Soul Society safely."

Nanao shook her head. "My safety doesn't matter. I need to get back. I die tomorrow and if I'm not there Shunsui will throw his life away. And I don't know if he will have the same fate I did." Nanao winced in pain at her shoulder. Tessai walked towards her and popped it into place then continued healing other wounds. "Ow. So how am I getting in?"

Yorichi looked at the girl with a bit of worry, but sighed when she saw the determination in her eyes. "We will still be opening a Senkaimon, but you will have to move very quickly. We don't know how long we can keep it open." Yorichi unfolded a cloak she had been holding and threw it at Nanao. "Wear that. It will give you a bit of protection when you first get into Soul Society. Remember, this soul of yours hasn't been in Soul Society yet. So you may find it a bit difficult to get used to the Reishi concentration at first."

Nanao nodded as Tessai finished healing her. She pulled on the cloak and found a mask in the hood. She put it on, but only the bottom half. "Then I should get going. I don't want to be late."

Yorichi stepped in front of the girl and opened up a gate. A hell butterfly flew out and circled Nanao. "Good luck, Ise-Fukutaichou."

Nanao bowed to Yorichi then ran into the gate.

She pulled her hood up as she neared the exit of the gate. 'I have one day till I die.' She scanned Seireitei for her own Reiatsu. She found it in 1st squad barracks, then lowered hers to a nonexistent level. Several explosions caught her attention as she stood on a roof. 'Guess I could help out a bit?' She headed towards the nearest one. She found a Quincy standing on a pile of rubble, not noticing the shinigami coming up behind him. "Pathetic."

The Quincy turned only to find a blade in his heart and through his neck. He crumpled to the ground. Nanao looked to see what he had been looking at. In the rubble was a heavily injured Hinamori Momo. "HINAMORI-SAN!" Nanao rushed to the girl's side. She was hardly breathing, but alive. Nanao started healing the girl quickly.

Hinamori started to stir as Nanao could hear other shinigami trying to find her. Nanao left her, she was almost healed, and continued her journey to 1st squad barracks. She quickly retreated to find somewhere to hide when she felt the presence of several Taichous heading towards the small girl. "Be safe, Hinamori-san." Nanao didn't dare look back, she had to keep moving. She needed to find somewhere to spend the night without drawing attention.

'An unknown shinigami in a war, with a Reiatsu that matches one of a current shinigami. not noticeable at all.' Nanao rolled her eyes at her zanpakutou's comment. She kept moving.

~The next day~

Nanao had easily found a place to stay for the night. One of her Taichou's hiding places proved to be quite useful. Nanao climbed out of the small annex room just before the sun peeked up from the horizon. 'Today's the day.' Nanao headed towards 1st squad barracks. They weren't far from her hiding place in 4th squad barracks. She stilled when she heard someone bellow her.

"Are you sure you weren't on the battle field, Ise-Fukutaichou?" She recognized Isane-Fukutaichou's voice easily. She looked down and her eyes grew wide as she caught sight of the person she was talking to.

"I'm positive. I was with Kyoraku-Soutaichou the entire time. Are you sure it was my Reiatsu that was found on Hinamori-san?" Nanao stared at herself. She quite liked the change in her appearance. The short hair was much easier to manage. She couldn't believe how conservative her look had once been.

'Shunsui is going to get a kick out of my appearance change.' Nanao held back a laugh so as to avoid detection.

Nanao continue to watch herself speak with the 4th squad Fukutaichou. An alarm went off, catching Nanao's attention. She stayed in her place as her former self rushed back to first squad. Once no one was in sight, she followed after herself, but took a more direct route to Shunsui's office from outside the squad building. She hung off the railing on the porch outside the office.

She watched the scene in front of her unfold.

Her former self launched a kido at the Quincy, he dodged. Shunsui attacked with his Shikai form, he blocked.

'What? He avoided it when I died. So it has changed.' Nanao continued to watched.

Shunsui attacked again, the Quincy dodged. The other Nanao launched a more powerful kido, he just barely stepped out of the way. He kicked rubble at Nanao, she brushed it off. An arrow was shot off at Kyoraku, he dodged. Other arrows followed, Kyoraku picked up Nanao and carried her out of danger.

"He's tougher than he looks, eh Nanao-chan?" Kyoraku spoke in a tone that pulled on Nanao's heart strings. She hadn't realized how much she had missed hearing his voice.

"Move, Shunsui!" The other Nanao pushed Kyoraku away from her. "Sorry."

"Sprenger." A deep cold voice spoke before a pilar of lit engulf the black haired Fukutaichou.

"NANAO!" Kyoraku aproached the pilar only to have it disappear. He dropped to his knees the same time a burnt Fukutaichou badge did. He picked it up as if he was scared of it. "Nanao...chan."

"Fair well, Soutaichou-san." Kyoraku made no move to defend himself. But no attack came, so he looked up to find a cloaked figure standing between himself and the Quincy. "And who might you be?" The Quincy was annoyed that someone had shown up, just as he was about to claim victory.

Nanao hid her face and tears in the hood of her cloak. She let the kido wall that had blocked the arrow fade away. She turned to Kyoraku. "Are you alright, Kyoraku-Soutaichou-sama?" She didn't want him to question who she was yet. So she acted as formal as she could. She was glad the mask helped to hide her voice.

Kyoraku just stared at the girl. The cloaked figure was obviously a girl, he could tell by the voice. "A lady shouldn't have to defend a man that has no will to live." He looked back at the badge in his hands. Tears flowed down his face.

Nanao tore her gaze away from him. It hurt too much to see him cry. "That's not what I see, and I will protect you no matter what. It's my duty." Nanao pushed the cloak behind her shoulders so it still covered her face and the hood stayed on, but she could move more freely. "You will die here, Quincy."

The Quincy looked amusingly at the new opponent. "You think you're strong? Allow me to show you just how weak you are." He shot of volleys of arrows, but none hit their mark.

"Bakudo 81: Danku." A wall came up between the two sides. It didn't sustain any damage. "You will have to try better than that." Nanao prepared for another kido. Reishi around the room gathered in her hands.

"How?! That's a Quincy technique!" Nanao grinned at the white clothed man.

"It was easy to learn. Especially when you're hailed as a kido master. And you posses other qualities." Nanao held the reishi over her hand and pointed her palm at the Quincy. "Hado 222: Shirohikabe." A white wall as large as her Danku spread out then shot at the Quincy. He didn't get away with out a scratch.

Kyoraku stared in amazement at the girl. 'That was a sorcery kido. A low levelled one, but still a sorcery kido.'

"You think that would stop me?! Vollstandig!" Nanao could tell the increase in power, but it didn't phase her.

Nanao moved out of the way of a shot and easily moved Kyoraku with her. "Please pay more attention to your surroundings, Kyoraku-Soutaichou." Nanao set him down and turned to face the Quincy. She noticed her cloak beginning to disintegrate. "I was hoping not to have to use that yet." Nanao put her hand up to her face. "But it seems I must."

Nanao put her Hollow mask on and threw away her cloak. "Please stay back, Kyoraku-Taichou." She looked over her shoulder at him before drawing both her zanpakutous. "Laughter permeates the stagnant air, madness rises from the blood soaked ground. Chibara Chishitoge." She held her claws out in front of her and kept a small black circle around her feet.

"Oho. So the little girly has a dark side. How cute." The Quincy sneered as he shot at Nanao.

Nanao held up both her hands. "Hado 91: Senju Koten Taiho." Ten small fairly large spheres appeared for each one of her claws. They all shot off at the Quincy's arrows. The shots that weren't hit were dissolved due to the impact blow from the other shots. "Try harder." Nanao launched herself at him. He managed to block her attacks, and land one of his own. "Gah." Nanao hit the wall beside Kyoraku. Her mask broke apart on impact.

Kyoraku was worried for the girl. Without her mask she looked very young. "Are you alright?" Kyoraku put a hand on her shoulder and started using healing kidos.

Nanao slowly opened her eyes. "Took you long enough to snap out of your daze, Taichou." Nanao slowly got up despite his attempts to keep her sitting. "Stop worrying. I'm fine. We have an Quincy to beat."

"Right. I have to avenge my sweet Nanao-chan. Then I can join her." Kyoraku stood up behind the girl he did not know why, but he couldn't help but feel like he knew her. His mind kept replaying Nanao's death. A butterfly didn't even replace her soul so she could continued the soul cycle. He was heartbroken, his Nanao-chan was lost to him.

"Your Nanao-chan?! HA!" Both shinigami turned to see a new figure walk into the room. Nanao recognized him instantly. She had hoped never to see him again. "Like you even knew who or what she really was." The man that walked in had straight black hair and deep blue eyes. "You just fell for my daughter's lies, and now she is dead. All because she refused to follow the plan all those years ago."

Nano glared at the man as Kyoraku stared at him in shock. "Nanao-chan...was your daughter?...she was a...Quincy?" Kyoraku couldn't believe what he was hearing.

The man smiled at how unhinged the Soutaichou was becoming. "Yep. I'm Ise Kirito. Ise Nanao's father. You will die for taking her from me and failing to keep her alive. You son-"

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Bleach.

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~1st squad barracks~

Nanao glared at the man who she knew was her birth father, but he had never cared for her. "Please refrain from saying unnecessary things, you poor excuse for a father." She tried to sound as menacing as possible, she succeeded.

"I was a wonderful father to an ungrateful child." Kirito yelled at the masked girl. He had just barely escaped her attack. He trembled a bit from the death threat coming from her voice. "You have no right to judge me."

"WRONG! I AM THE ONLY ONE WITH THE RIGHT TO JUDGE YOU!" Nanao let her Shunko loose. The kido rippled across her back and ripped apart her mask. "You. Die. Here." She launched at him at full speed. He couldn't react in time.

She cut of his right arm and his left leg, then let him fall to the ground. She grabbed him by his throat and pushed him into a wall before throwing him into the air. She got above him and kicked him into the floor, leaving a fairly large indent in it. As she fell towards him she gathered Reishi in her hand again. "Hado 333: Aotenoda!" Nanao threw the blue kido at the man lying prone on the ground.

Shunsui stared in amazement. He hadn't expected her to be this powerful. 'Who is this girl? Why does she remind me so much of Nanao-chan?' He watched in amazement as she walked out of the dust cloud without a scratch on her. Heir short black hair fell messily over her forehead, but it looked breathtaking to him. Her intense purple eyes stared back at him.

"Are you alright Kyoraku-san?" Nanao saw him come back to himself. 'What was he dreaming about?'

They both turned their attention back to the Quincy. He was clapping his hands slowly as if to mock her. "Amazing. You didn't even hesitate. Nor did you give him a chance to tell you who your mother was."

"I already know who she was." Nanao smirked at the Quincy. She stepped between him and Shunsui. "Shall we continue?" She attacked without waiting for his reply.

The Quincy blocked most of her attacks. He got hit by a few, but they were only minor injuries. "Is that the best you can do!?" He shot at Nanao, but the shot curved around and headed for Shunsui.

"Danku." Kyoraku easily got a defence up. He smiled at the female shinigami. "I can't call myself a gentle man if I'm always being protected by such a pretty girl." He saw the Quincy move to take advantage of her being distracted. He easily got between them and pulled her away. "You okay, Nanao-chan?" He smirked at the girl while mentally punching himself in the face for not realizing who she was earlier. She had even given herself away a few times, but he had been to depressed to see it.

Nanao smirked at him. "Took you long enough, Shunsui." She held back a giggle when she saw his shocked face.

"My lovely Nanao-chan called me by my name. I'm so happy." Shunsui hugged the girl. "But how are you here? I saw you die in front of me. You know what. Don't answer that. It doesn't matter."

Nanao gentle pulled out of his embrace and gathered Reishi in her hand. "I'll explain once we get rid of him and have a bit more privacy." She leaned around him and caught the Quincy by surprise. "Hado 91: Senju Koten Taiho." The Quincy backed away from the two.

Shunsui smiled down at Nanao. "My lovely Nanao-chan has gotten stronger. I thought your zanpakutou was a tantou?"

Nanao smirked up at Shunsui. "Yeah. I'll tell you later. Now isn't really the best time." Nanao tackled him to the ground as arrows flew over their heads. "Stop grinning like an idiot. Focus."

"How can I? My lovely Nanao-chan is alive and laying on top of me." Shunsui couldn't help but smile at how things were going. He picked her up and moved away from another attack. "I'm guessing you have a plan."

"Of course." Nanao smiled up at him. She got down from his arms and turned towards the Quincy. "Just don't use your Bankai. I would rather not have to go up against it."

"Don't worry Nanao-chan." Kyoraku stepped up beside Nanao so she was on his right side. "How can I help?"

Nanao smiled at her Taichou. "You may want to stay away from me, and off the ground. Bankai!" The ground turned black and purple mist spread out everywhere. Shunsui manages to back out of the circle before it reached him. A wicked grin spread over Nanao's face as a laugh escaped her lips. She turned towards the man trembling in front of her. "Hahaha! You look scared, Quincy."

The Quincy had tried to take her Bankai, but as soon as she released it he couldn't even bring himself to breath. He was scared to death. He fell down and backed away from her.

"No reply. That's too bad." Nanao stepped up to him and knelt down in front of him. "Want to play with me? I always like playing with my new toys." Nanao focused on the Quincy. "Let's see if you can dance." She stood up and lifted her hand up. The Quincy lifted off the ground as she lifted her hand. "Let's play nicely." She tilted her head slightly As she moved the Quincy towards the centre of the Playground.

Nanao smiled as she moved her fingers like she was playing a piano. The Quincy began moving through the air. "Looks like you can dance, but I'm bored of playing. You only know a few moves, and they're sloppy. I have better things to do than play with a useless toy. Bye-bye." Nanao closed her hand into a fist. The Quincy screamed before he was cut into unrecognizable pieces of flesh. Her smile slowly faded from her face as the echoing scream faded.

Nanao moved closer to the centre of the room. "Playtime end." The black ground and purple mist retreated back towards the her. She looked towards Shunsui once they were gone. "Are you scared of me, Shunsui?" She almost couldn't ask the question, but she wanted to know.

Shunsui had stayed quiet during the whole fight. He hadn't expect Nanao to have such a dark side to her. "Yes, but that doesn't mean I will stay away from you." Kyoraku walked towards Nanao and wrapped his arms around her. "Everyone has a little bit if darkness in them. Some are just better at hiding it than others. And others just need to let it out sometimes."

Nanao was surprised by Kyoraku's reaction, but she was happy with it. She hugged him back. "Thank you, Shunsui."

"So how did you get a new zanpakutou?" Shunsui held Nanao close to him. He didn't want her to disappear or get hurt. He couldn't stand to lose her again.

"I died, but I got another life because I have a very high level Reiatsu." Nanao cuddled closer to Kyoraku. "I was worried you would try to kill yourself, so I tried to find out where I was. It turns out I turned up before I had even died. So I had to make sure you were okay." Nanao was starting to have trouble holding back tears.

Shunsui could feel her starting to shake in his arms. He sat down on the floor and pulled her into his lap. He kissed her forehead as he held her. 'She fits perfectly.'

Nanao calmed down a bit, but couldn't bring herself to look at him. "I feel bad though. I know I'm here and alive, but I also died. Well at least the me here died. It feels wrong." Nanao tucked her hair behind her ears then untucked it.

"It shouldn't. All that matters is that you are here, and that you're safe in my arms. Nanao-chan fits perfectly in arms." Kyoraku smiled at himself. Nanao couldn't help but giggle at the truth in his comment. "I love that sound. Your laugh is always so cute, Nanao."

"I love you." Nanao held her breath. She half hoped Shunsui hadn't heard what she said. After several minutes she finally looked at his face. "Shunsui-" She was cut off by velvet soft lips.

She closed her eyes and enjoyed the kiss, their first kiss. She felt his tongue glide across her bottom lip, it tickled. She parted her lips as their tongues met and danced with each other. She wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.

After what felt like eternity, they broke apart gasping for air.

Nanao was kneeling in front of Shunsui. She gazed into his brown eyes with half lidded eyes. "I love you, Shunsui."

Shunsui smiled at her words. "So my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. I love you too, Nanao." He pulled her into another kiss. This one ended at the sound of several explosions nearby. "Can't get a moments rest."

Nanao laughed at her Taichou's laziness. "Your the Soutaichou. You have the most amount of work to do." Nanao gave him a quick kiss before standing up. She offered him a hand up.

"When did you wear gloves?" Shunsui got up with his own strength, but still held Nanao's hand.

"That would be my Bankai. This is actually my first time using it, ever." Nanao examined the gloves. They each had a cat on the back and had no fingers. "Was it scary? To see what I have inside of me."

Shunsui frowned at the question. He knew there was no way to answer and not hurt her, so he went with the truth. "Yes, but that isn't always a bad thing. Your darkness is quite bright compared to what I have known, but that's because I have been in more battles than you have. And I would very much like to keep it that way." He pulled her into his arms and held breathed in her scent, lavender and books. He knew that books had a smell, he had been hit with them enough to know that. "I like your new look. It's quite cute."

Nanao smiled as she breathed in the scent of grass, sake, and sakuras. She would never get tired of his smell, even if she didn't quite care for sake, but it wouldn't be right without it. "This is what I looked like before I enrolled in the Academy. I let my hair grow out and I put glasses on. They didn't have a prescription, but I wanted to hide. Plus they helped to hide my powers so I could blend easier. I had been running and hiding for so long, I just needed to change one last time. Now I don't have to." Nanao could barely remember her mother. She had died shortly before Nanao had, had to...run away.

"I didn't know you had Quincy blood in you." Shunsui was trying to figure out how that was possible.

"My mother was a shinigami. She had been taken hostage during the first Quincy/Shinigami war, the extermination, but never ransomed. Her captor, my father, fell in love with her. They got married and were happy. When I was born my father was happy, until I turned five. When I turned five, I had manifested my zanpakutou spirit. He wasn't too pleased about that.

"We had been living in the human world at the time. So my father simply restricted my Reiatsu and locked my zanpakutou spirit away with it. When I was seven, my parents got into a fight. It ended with my father shooting my mother. I had hidden in the closet and had watched the whole thing. I didn't make a sound, I just held onto my zanpakutou spirit for dear life.

"He never found me. My zanpakutou had performed a soul burial on me. I woke up in Soul Society, with all of my memories. I asked people around me where I was and if they had seen my mother, no one had. It was only after I got into the Academy that I found out that, anything shot with a Quincy arrow doesn't go to Soul Society. I cried myself to sleep for so long.

"The day I stopped was when Yadomaru-sempai recruited me at graduation. Then the rest is history that you know." Nanao wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "I am just a mess today."

Shunsui cupped her face and wiped her remaining tears away with his thumbs. "You're beautiful. Whether it's a hard day or a good day, you are always beautiful." He leaned down and captured her lips again. Their kiss was interrupted by another explosion. "I can't seem to get a break." Shunsui whined while pouting.

Nanao gave him another kiss before pulling away. "How about we finish this war, then we can continue?" Nanao bit her lip, hoping he understood what she was implying. The dark glint in his eyes told her he did.

Shunsui walked up behind her. "Lead the way lovely Nanao-chan." Kyoraku followed his Fukutaichou to the porch and into the fray of battle.

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Bleach.

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~somewhere in Seireitei~

It didn't take long for other Quincys to find Kyoraku and Ise. They stood back to back facing the three Quincy surrounding them.

Nanao held up her hands. "I've got this." She closed her hand and pulled it backwards. She took off towards one of the Quincy. She made another quick motion with her hand and changed her trajectory. The Quincy tried to predict where she would end up, till he found he couldn't move. "Toy Acquired." Nanao stood behind the Quincy and held her hands up. "Let's play." Nanao grinned as she moved her fingers.

Shunsui quickly moved towards Nanao and away from the other two Quincy. "What are you planning, Nanao-chan?" He saw her grinning and decided it may be best not to know after all.

"Just going to play with a new toy." Nanao closed her pointer and ring finger of her left hand. The Quincy lifted his bow towards his comrades. She closed the first three fingers of her right hand. The Quincy pulled back on his bow drawing back an arrow. "This toy has nice accessories." Nanao flexed her pointer finger on her left hand, releasing the arrow.

Shunsui stared at amazement. 'Wow. That is very interesting. I wonder how she did that?'

"You think that will phase us?" The two Quincy shot arrows at the shinigami, not caring if they hit their comrade.

Nanao frowned at the dead Quincy she held in her Bankai. "That's no fun. You broke my toy." She relaxed her hands and the corps dropped to the ground. "I don't like people who break my things."

The Quincy appeared on either side of the two shinigami. Both shinigami moved as the Quincy let off a volley of shots. They turned and shot at the shinigami while they where still in the air.

"Try again!" Nanao held her hands in front of her in fists then pulled them upwards.

Shunsui was surprised when he felt something tug him towards the ground. He landed easily and caught Nanao in his arms. "So that's how my Nanao-chan moves others against their will." Shunsui smiled down at the blushing girl in his arms. He moved quickly to avoid another attack.

The two remaining Quincy glared at the shinigami. They continued their onslaught of attacks, but none seemed to hit.

The area where Shunsui landed began to glow. Nanao worked quickly to pull the away, but was a bit too careless and sent them in the direction of a wall. Shunsui quickly turned and took the brunt of the impact.

"Shunsui!" Nanao had heard a small grunt from her Taichou when they had hit the wall. He landed on the ground an fell to his knees. "Shunsui!" Nanao was worried it was her fault he was injured.

"I'm okay, Nanao-chan. But I think I might be getting old." Shunsui tried to cover the increasing pain in his upper back by putting on a playful smile. His gazed fell on the two Quincy moving closer towards them. "Do you have a plan?"

Nanao looked towards the enemy that was approaching. "I have several, but I need to get them down to one." Nanao walked away from her injured Taichou. "You should put a barrier up."

"I'll be fine." Shunsui struggled to stand up. He eventually settled on just leaning against the nearest wall for support.

"You should heal yourself." Nanao didn't turn to look at him. She was focusing on the enclosing enemies. Once they where close enough, she smiled at them. She used shunpo to get directly behind them. "Playtime Start" A black circle opened beneath Nanao.

Both Quincy jumped into the air and shot at Nanao, she didn't move but they didn't hit her. "Playground rule one: If you attack with intent to break the toys, no harm is done." Nanao spoke from behind her enemies. She kicked one into the ground.

The Quincy that was not attack retreated out of the area with the purple mist. While the other was left to Nanao's mercy. Nanao slowly walked towards the slightly injured Quincy. He shot at her again. Again there was no result. "Playground rule two: Repeat offenders will receive a time out." As Nanao spoke the ground began to swallow the Quincy. It spit him back out a minute later. He looked scared to death.

Nanao smiled playfully at the Quincy and knelt down. "Do you want to stop playing?"

The Quincy looked up at the girl. He furrowed his brows. "Ise-chan? You have got to be kindling me. Kirito's stupid brat that he said died is still around. He shouldn't have just accepted your corpse as a sign you were dead. He should have killed you like your-" he was cut off by the shadows swallowing him.

"Playground rule three: If you refuse to stop playing when asked, you receive another time out." Nanao stood up from where she was. "I'm not his brat. He never said I was his. So I'm not." Nanao reduced the shadow till it was only a small circle. "Playtime End." When the shadow uncover the Quincy, he was barely breathing. Nanao held her hand over his head, then cut it off by closing her fist.

"Why The hell do they want you?!" Nanao turned to look at the last Quincy. "You're just a shinigami! Why the hell do we have to bring you back?!"

Nanao looked at the Quincy in confusion. 'They were going to try and take me back with them?' She snapped out of her thoughts when the Quincy was suddenly close to her. She tried to gather reishi for a kido, but decided to use it for strings instead. She pulled herself out of the way of his shots. "Is that all you got?"

"Not in the slightest." Nanao hadn't notice him get behind her. He hit her with an powerful shot.

"That wasn't a good move." Shunsui cut through the remaining Quincy then moved as fast as he could to where Nanao lay on the ground. "Nanao!" He picked her up gently. She was barely breathing. He shunpoed towards 4th squad.

"Kyoraku-Soutaichou!" Shinigami moved out of his way as he made his way inside the hospital.

When he found the highest ranking officer he didn't even wait for her to acknowledge him. "Kotetsu-Fukutaichou."

Isane slipped into her medic mode the moment she laid eyes on the Soutaichou. She walked ahead of him and led him to an empty room. She looked at the girl he laid down curiously. "Who is this?" She began scanning for injuries as soon as he backed away from her. Her eyes widened as she realized who's Reiatsu is was. "Ise-Fukutaichou? When did she change her look? I just saw her this morning." She found several small cuts, but nothing major that would have rendered the girl unconscious.

"That's a long story. How is she?" Shunsui was worried. Isane's facial expressions showed that she was confused about Nanao's condition.

Isane pulled her hand back with a yelp when she reached Nanao's left shoulder. She felt something shock her. She approached the area again, but without kido. When she looked at Nanao's shoulder, a small circle with a five point star was present there. "What is this?" Isane hadn't seen anything like this on any of the other patients.

Shunsui looked at the mark closely. "It looks like the star that Quincy use as their symbol."

Isane looked curiously at Kyoraku. "Why does Nanao-san have a mark like this one her? I've never seen it on her before." The two had gone to the public bath with the SWA over two weeks prior. Isane began healing Nanao's other injuries.

"Because those Quincy pricks want Nanao-chan on their side." Both shinigami looked towards the purple cat that sat at Nanao's feet. A black one was sitting beside it. "So they're trying to kill us off so all she has left is her Quincy powers. Those stupid people think they can just decide who's side she's on." Both cats started walking towards the head of the bed. "Don't worry there is nothing physically wrong with her." The cat glared at Isane till the girl left the room after she had finished healing Nanao's injuries.

"That wasn't very nice." Shunsui looked at the cats as if they talked to him all the time.

"Oh yeah. Well I care more about Nanao-chan's safety and well being over being nice!" The purple cat glared at the man wearing the pink haori. "Now do you want to help her or not, flower boy!"

Shunsui glared at the cat. "Yes, but how?" He held Nanao's hand and noticed her gloves were gone. "You're her zanpakutou, aren't you?"

"That's not important right now. You need to help her! You're probably the only one who she feels can." Chishitoge yelled more earnestly at the Taichou.

Shunsui moved Nanao's bangs away from her eyes, then kissed her forehead. "I'm here to help you, Nanao." He turned to the two cats. "How can I help her?"

Chishitoge smiled at Shunsui. "You're going to need to enter her inner world, and combine your two worlds. Her world has already begun to collapse. What is lost can't be recovered, but what is left can be salvaged." Seeing the man nod with acceptance, the cat continued. "Lay Katen Kyokotsu on either side of Nanao-chan. Then we can draw you into her inner world. Her soul has become defensive so neither me nor my brother can get close to her, but you probably can. We will guide you to her."

Shunsui followed the cat's instructions. After he placed a zanpakutou down, a cat landed on it's hilt. He brought a chair close to Nanao's bed and sat down. He held one of Nanao's hands as he laid his head on her bed. "I'm on my way, Nanao." He closed his eyes as he felt his soul being pulled into her world with the laughter of her zanpakutous.

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Please leave a comment or a question. Let me know what you think about the story so far.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Bleach.

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~Marionette's Graveyard~

Shunsui opened his eyes to find himself in a circle of light. He looked around, but could see nothing beyond the light. He cautiously walked out of the light and found himself in dim light. He looked around at all the dolls. Small ones, human sized ones, child sized ones, and a few really large ones. "Nice decorations."

"Could use a few more bones instead of all the dolls." Shunsui turned to see his zanpakutous in their human forms walking towards him. "The vacant stares from their eyes are creeping me out."

Shunsui chuckled. "There certainly isn't much that creeps you out, Katen Kyokotsu." Shunsui looked around a bit more, hoping to see the cats somewhere.

"We should get moving. The light is fast approaching." Two cats landed on Shunsui's shoulders. Both looked behind them. "We should move, now!" The purple cat hissed in Shunsui's ear.

He took off as fast as he could. He glanced back a few times and noticed a bright light heading towards them, fast. All of the dolls the light touched were blown apart. Shunsui picked up the pace, Katen Kyokotsu easily kept up with him. "What is that light?"

"The curse seal. It destroys shinigami powers, but only if there are Quincy powers present. Nanao-chan may not be able to wield a Quincy bow, but she can manipulate Reishi. So if she were to practise, she could easily master it. Her stupid father put it on her the same time he sealed her Reiatsu when she was still alive." The cat spoke while easily staying on Shunsui's shoulder. "Brother! Can you slow it down?!"

Chibara nodded at his brother, then turned around. "Playtime." The dolls began to pile up behind them as shimmering lines appeared tied them together. They bulged out, but seemed to hold. "Twenty minutes."

"Doesn't talk much does he?" Shunsui kept his fast pace to put as much distance as he could between them and that light. He finally stopped to catch his breath once they could no longer see the large pile of dolls.

"No. He prefers to stay quiet." Chishitoge jumped off Shunsui's shoulder and began walking towards some of the larger dolls. They seemed to be looking down at something, and looked to be sitting in a ring. "Come we are close to her core. But I'm afraid that is as far as we zanpakutou can go-"

*CRASH* They all looked behind them to see the light drawing near once again. Shunsui turned to the light, it was worse then the morning sun to him. "Looks like it's more powerful than you thought. Katen Kyokotsu!" His zanpakutou transformed into their sword form. 'We're going to have to use that.'

'Let's take care of the damn light.' Shunsui grinned at his zanpakutou's response.

He held them out in front of him. "Kakurenbo." He spun as ribbons off shadows came off his blades. They stuck to the light till it was covered. It stopped moving forwards just feet in front of Shunsui. The shadows pulled the bulge of lights backwards and further back still. Kyoraku let his zanpakutou fall from his hands and reform into their human forms.

"Well that's one way to take of the problem." Chishitoge raised an eyebrow at the Taichou.

Shunsui walked back towards the ring of dolls. As he walked over the ring he felt a heavy reiatsu. He looked back and noticed Katen Kyokotsu had her hand up, but it couldn't move passed where it was. Shunsui turned to look at the inside of the ring. The ring wasn't large, but the bird cage was. "What is that?"

"The remnants of her last zanpakutou. It was all he had left behind. We've had to do a bit of remodelling. Too much light for our taste." Chishitoge seemed to speak in a sad tone. As if he was speaking of a dead ancestor. "It is the core of her power."

"Strings and broken dolls. Looks like an abandoned toy box." Shunsui touched some strings that he could just barely make out, but they disintegrated at his touch. He walked towards the cage swiftly. He walked into the cage and saw a figure hunched over on the swing. He could see strings holding up the figure, or holding it down.

He couldn't feel any Reiatsu coming from the figure. He couldn't even feel any around him. He reached out and touched the figure. The strings fell away to reveal pale alabaster skin. Shunsui continued to wipe the strings away till he had Nanao securely in his arms. "Nanao...Nanao-chan...you need to wake up sweet heart." He gently kissed her face.

A crashing sound could be heard in the distant. Nanao curled up in pain and gripped at Shunsui's clothes. She opened her eyes tentatively and looked up to see a worried face. "Shunsui?..." Nanao laid her head against his chest. She felt weak.

Shunsui noticed white cracks running along Nanao's skin. It started at a white circle on her shoulder. He gathered shadows in his hand and held it over the circle. The cracks shrank back to the circle. He released the shadow once he saw no more light. The cracks reappeared and spread once the shadow was gone. "Kya!" He held Nanao gentle as she cried out.

"I'm sorry, Nanao-chan." Shunsui held her defensively as he walked out of the cage and towards the edge of the ring. "It's okay, Nanao. Katen Kyokotsu! Open a door to the Bone Garden." He saw his zanpakutou open a door and then the cats reinforce it. Shunsui walked through it with Nanao tucked safely against his chest. He knelt down in the centre of a candle lit garden.

"She needs to wake up. Otherwise she can't pull her world into yours. Love the decorum." Chishitoge looked around the candle lit garden. All of the candles were made of bones and bones hung from nearby trees. He walked to a flower and smelled the skull growing out of it. "I very much like this place."

"Why thank you. What will happen when she pulls your world into ours?" Katen Kyokotsu smiled at the purple cat. She quite liked the fury creature.

"Oh nothing much. A few dolls here and there. A cage over your core. He might have to endure a bit of pain, but nothing deadly." The purple cat spoke vaguely as he walked back towards his master.

"We haven't much time." The black cat spoke up from the smaller Katen Kyokotsu's arms. Their partners looked at them curiously.

"Right. Nanao. Nanao-chan. Love, you need to wake up." He smiled as her eyes fluttered open.

She noticed the subtle changes around her. "Where are we?"

"That is not necessary to know at the moment." Chishitoge approached his master. "You need to pull your inner world into this world. Otherwise you will lose to the Quincy side of you. You will let your stupid father win after you crushed him to a pulp!"

Nanao stared in surprise at the outburst from her zanpakutou. "Okay, but I don't know how."

Chibara jumped onto Shunsui's shoulder. "Instead of pushing yourself into your world, pull it around you." Nanao and Shunsui stared at the black cat. That was more than he had ever said to Nanao in a week.

Nanao closed her eyes and concentrated as her zanpakutou had instructed. She didn't notice the pained look that started creeping onto Shunsui's face.

More crashes could be heard through the door. Shunsui looked behind him. Katen Kyokotsu spoke for him. "Can we close the door?"

Chishitoge shock his head. "We can't close it till the core is on this side of it." He looked back at Nanao.

The ground began to shake a bit. Doll heads began rising from the ground, their eyes were black as night. More dolls began to appear and strings started intertwining itself between the dolls and bones. Some pulled the bones across the air and made it look like they were just floating. Skulls and bone candles made the little clearing look like a romantic scene.

The four zanpakutou looked pleased at what the garden was becoming. "Not bad. I just might start to like dolls. Especially if they all have those glossy black eyes." The older Katen Kyokotsu glanced with worry at the two shinigami sitting in the centre of the transforming garden. One was covered in blood and the other was bleeding, but neither seemed to make a sound.

The crashing grew louder. "NANAO! Pull your core over!" Chishitoge yelled desperately at the girl.

Nanao was barely holding onto consciousness, but she was managing to pull her inner world over. She centred herself and pulled as hard as she could. She was rewarded by a loud *THUD* and the sound of a door slamming shut. Then an eerie silence. She slowly opened her eyes. They widened at the sight of Shunsui's face. "Shunsui!"

Shunsui opened his eyes and looked into Nanao's worried one. "I'm okay Nanao. This is nothing. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine you idiot, but look at yourself. Your covered in cuts and bleeding everywhere." Nanao couldn't help but feel responsible. She had forced her inner world into his. "I'm sorry Shunsui."

"Don't be. If you hadn't, I would have lost you. I couldn't have lived with that. Especially if I could have done something to help you." He held her closely and kissed her forehead, leaving a bloody kiss. "Sorry. Looks like I bled more than I thought I did." He caught sight of how much blood they were sitting in and how glossy their clothes were from it as well. "Good thing I have a lot of blood to spare."

Nanao smirked at him. Leave it to him to come up with a witty comment in a situation that should have been filled with worry. "So this is your inner world?"

"It's just as much his as it is yours now." Nanao and Shunsui looked towards the four zanpakutou spirits walking towards them. "I didn't think I would like the dolls this much. They look quite nice, even the broken ones." The older Katen Kyokotsu had Chishitoge on her shoulders and was scratching his head.

Chishitoge purred with delight. "The bones are very lovely, but what should we call this place. Neither of us were created here. After all, inner worlds are not meant to be combined. They can be, but it's quite messy."

"What do you mean?" Shunsui looked at the purple cat.

Nanao looked at Shunsui, then glared at her zanpakutou. "You didn't even tell him what combining our worlds meant?!" She huffed in frustration. "Stupid cat."

Chishitoge was about to yell at her, but was interrupted. "Stupid brother." Chishitoge looked in surprise at the black cat in the smaller Katen Kyokotsu's arms. How could his brother betray him.

"What does combining our worlds mean?" Shunsui had no clue what they were talking about. He could vaguely remember reading something about inner worlds in a scroll somewhere, but he couldn't remember what it said.

Nano turned to Shunsui and took a deep breath. "It means that our souls are now intertwined. Which means that if either of us wanted to, we could summon and use each other's zanpakutou freely." Shunsui's eyes lit up in surprise. "But, there is a flaw to it. If either of us dies, so does the other." Nanao turned her gaze to the fountain in her broken birdcage. "That's why the cores are mixed with each other. So you could say that we are now inseperable."

Shunsui smiled at Nanao's choice of words. "So I just have to protect my Nanao-chan more, and my Nanao-chan has protect me more." He hugged her tightly and gazed down inter her intense purple eyes. "So beautiful." He leaned down and kissed her lips gently.

Nanao grinned against his lips. Then returned it with a strong passion, gliding her tongue against his lips till they parted.

Shunsui smiled as he deepened their kiss. He pulled Nanao around to face him without breaking their kiss. He laid back into the blood soaked grass and held her on top of him.

"Sorry to interrupt." Nanao nearly screamed at her zanpakutou's sudden appearance. Chishitoge seemed pleased with the results he got. "It might be best if you two went back. I'm sure there are several people who may be worried." The cat walked up an almost invisible line till he found a sturdy skull to curl up on. "I might get very used to this boneyard of dolls. Hey, that's a good name. Doll's Boneyard. What do you think?"

"I think it fits perfectly. And it's sounds quite beautiful." Katen Kyokotsu sat down on a bit of grass and was relaxing against a large doll head.

Shunsui smiled at the zanpakutou spirits. They seemed happy. "I'll see you soon, Nanao." Shunsui kissed her once more. Nanao catches his face as he leans away. he can see a small glow over were his eyepatch covered his missing right eye. "What was that?" All he got was an amused smile. He grinned back before fading from the inner world.

Nanao sat for a little longer in the faintly glowing clearing. She looked at her exposed shoulder. Only a bit of pink flesh showed that there had once been something there. "To think that curse seal would actually have caused all this?" She looked around at the new inner world. The world she had created with Shunsui. 'Hopefully not the only thing I create with him.' She blushed a bit at her own thoughts.

"I'm not sure kids would be a good thing." Nanao looked towards the older woman that was one of Shunsui's zanpakutou. "Although, it might make him become more responsible. Who knows?"

Nanao smiled at her. "Maybe I can get him to do paperwork without bribes for once?" Both woman laughed at the outrageous thought. "I guess I'll see you later, Katen Kyokotsu."

The woman smiled at her gently. "See you later."

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Please leave a comment or a question. I just couldn't split it into two chapters. It was too good.


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Bleach.

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~4th squad hospital~

Shunsui tried to open his eyes. They felt like sand bags. He grunted as he turned over to try and get some more sleep.

"Shunsui?" Kyoraku turned back over and forced his eyes open. Ukitake Jushiro sat in a chair across the room from him with a relieved expression on his face. "Thank goodness. You gave us all a fright there Shun-kun. We found you with your head on a mattress covered in blood. We didn't know if you would make it."

"Thank goodness I have plenty to spare, ne?" Shunsui smiled at his friend as he sat up slowly. "How long have I been out?" Shunsui stretched as he swung his legs off the bed.

"Long enough for the war to end." Jushiro noticed his friend's shocked expression. "Kurosaki Ichigo."

Shunsui nodded. The name gave him a good enough explanation. "How's Nanao-chan?" Jushiro gave his friend a confused look. "Juu, how is Nanao doing?"

"You mean...the girl in that bed...that was?" Jushiro stared at his friend as he nodded. "When did she change her look? I just saw her yesterday." He ran a hand through his long hair at the revelation of who the mystery girl was. He was worried Nanao would have been heartbroken if she heard about where they had found Shunsui.

Shunsui waved his hand at his friend. "It's a long story. I can tell you over a drink."

"Mind if I join you for that drink?" Both men looked to see a slim figure in the doorway. "How are you, Ukitake-Taichou?" Nanao smiled sweetly at the 13th squad Taichou as she walked into the room.

Jushiro looked at the girl in disbelief. Her hair was short and slightly messy. She was tall and slender, yet still seemed like she could take on anyone. And she asked to go drinking! "Ise-san?!" Jushiro had a hard time believing it. She seemed so un-Nanao like.

"Aww. My cute little Nanao-chan wants to make sure no other woman gets her hands on me-" Shunsui found a hard, but not so thick, book hit his face. He fell backwards off the bed by the force of the hit.

Jushiro blinked, he didn't know where the book had come from. He looked towards the only other person in the room. "Please do not call me little, Taichou." Jushiro laughed a bit. She was definitely his friends Fukutaichou.

"Nanao-chaaaaaan! Why did you attack me? Where did you get a book from?" Shunsui couldn't see a pocket or bag on her, and she definitely wasn't carrying it with her. He crawled back onto the bed and set the book aside.

Nanao smirked at Shunsui. "You'd be surprised what some kido can do." Nanao winked suggestively at him and smirked.

"First you ask to go drinking. Then you throw a book at him. Then you flirt with him. You definitely are and aren't the Ise-san I know." Jushiro messages the headache that he was starting to get. She was certainly confusing to figure out, and that was definitely a Nanao thing.

"I told you. It's a long story." Shunsui smiled at his friend. He held out his hand to Nanao and pulled her closer once she had taken it. "How's my lovely Nanao-chan doing?" He nuzzled into her neck and planted a few quick kisses.

Nanao giggled when he hit a ticklish spot and at his over all behaviour. "I'm fine. I wanted to know how it was healing." She reached towards his eye patch.

Shunsui looked at her questioningly. "How what was-" He stopped when she took off the eye patch. He was surprised to find that he could see light out of that eye. Once she had completely removed it he stared to his right. He could see what was beside him.

"I figured out a few powerful kidos while I was gone." She looked at the ceiling nervously. "I don't like seeing broken things when I can fix them." She had a bit of blush on her cheeks that Shunsui found adorable.

Shunsui pulled her close to him again. They were at eye level since he was sitting and slouching. "My Nanao-chan is so thoughtful." He kissed her forehead.

Jushiro smiled at the two. "Glad to see you two finally together. You both have been in love with each other for long enough." Jushiro smiled at his friend. "Sadly I have to pass on drinks tonight. I have paperwork to do, but you two have fun." Jushiro left the two as he headed back to his squad.

Nanao smiled as the white haired Taichou walked out of the room. She felt Shunsui pull her closer to him and smiled. "Being clingy, Taichou?" She looked at her Taichou with a playful expression.

Shunsui smiled at her. "Just thinking about our date tonight. Shall I cook dinner or shall we go out?" He ran a hand through her silky short hair. He loved the way it tickled his skin with its soft coldness.

Nanao smiled at the feel of his warm hands. "I didn't know you could cook. Sounds lovely." She leaned forward and left a feather light kiss on his lips. "See you at around 8:00?" She pulled away with a smile before he could stop her.

Shunsui frowned at her a little. "My Nanao-chan is teasing me. Alright, I'll see you then." He switched back to his cheerful attitude as he waved goodbye to her. He got off the bed and got dressed in the fresh uniform that was in a chair beside his bed. They had a faint scent of lavender clinging to them. He smiled at the delicate scent.

He waved to Isane as he left the hospital and shunpoed back to his house. He went into his room and changed into a pink yukata. He walked into the kitchen and leaned on the counter. "Now what to make for my dear Nanao-chan?" He opened his fridge and cabinets to see what he had. His eyes lit up as he thought of recipes he could use. "I'm sure she will love anything I make, but I should stay away from nuts. I would hate to have to take Nanao-chan to the hospital shortly after she was released." He smiled as he began cooking.

~10th squad barracks~

Nanao peaked into Hitsugaya's office. She knew he was there, it was quite cold near the office. She noticed Rangiku sitting in her chair and doing her work, with her butt frozen to her chair. Nanao rolled her eyes at her friend's predicament.

Nanao knocked on the door and waited for a reply. "Enter." She noted the sound of annoyance in the Taichou's voice. "Who are you?"

"Honestly? Does no one check Reiatsu signatures anymore?!" Nanao was getting tired of having to explain who she was to everyone. She suddenly found herself being crushed between strong arms and overly large breasts. "Ran-chan...I...can't...breath"

The blond woman let the girl go immediately. "Sorry Nanao-chan. I was just happy. I felt your Reiatsu disappear and you look so different. Plus your suppressing your Reiatsu too much." Rangiku whined to her friend.

"Sorry Ran-chan. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Nanao hugged her friend back. "I was wondering if I could use your help? If you weren't busy of course." She glanced at Histugaya-Taichou cautiously.

Hitsugaya had already gone back to his desk and was working on paperwork. "If Matsumoto finished her work, she can help you." He really wasn't in the mood for dealing with his lazy Fukutaichou.

"Aww! Taichou! There's too much work to do!" Matsumoto whined as Nanao dragged her back to her desk.

"Stop whining. I'll help you if you want." Nanao found less resistance from her friend as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

Matsumoto sat Nanao down in her chair and placed a pen in her hand. "Thanks for the help."

Nanao smirked as she stood up and sat the blond down. "Bakudo 63: Sajo Sabaku." Nanao wove the kido around Rangiku's legs and torso. She left her arms free so she could write. "I said I would help you, not do it for you."

Matsumoto sweat dropped. "I think you went a little over board. Is a level 60 bakudo really necessary?"

"Shall I use a sorcery kido instead?" Nanao gave her friend one of her challenge faces. Matsumoto shock her head and started writing madly.

It took ten minutes for Rangiku to finish her work. After Nanao released the kido, the two headed off towards Nanao's private quarters.

When the two arrived Nanao flopped on her bed and wrapped herself in her blankets. "I've missed this bed!" She stopped when she noticed Rangiku's confused look. "I guess I should explain. Although I will probably have to at one of the meetings in the near future, but you're my friend. Just promise you won't freak out."

"Right now you're acting strange and I want to take you to 4th squad. I'll try not to freak out." Matsumoto sat next to her friend on her now messed up bed.

Nanao kept her self wrapped in her blankets as she breathed in the familiar scent. "I'm not the Ise Nanao you know, but I am Ise Nanao. I just sort of...went back to how I was before my Academy days. Before I became the bookworm everyone knows. I still am, but now there is more to me. You could say I'm finally coming out of my shell. Especially since I have a date with Kyorauku-Taichou tonight."

Matsumoto let the words sink in. Then she let out a high pitch squealing sound as she wrapped her arms around her friend. "I'm so happy for you, Nanao-chan! Your finally being yourself and you finally got together with him!" Matsumoto held the girl at arms length. "I quite like the new look. It fits you quite well actually. Plus you've definitely grown. Last I checked you were barely a B cup, and these could almost be considered a D."

Nanao backed away from her friend before she could fully test what size Nanao was. "You're the same as ever, Ran-chan. I need you to help me pick an outfit for tonight. I want to look nice, but I'm not quite sure how." She looked away from her friend in embarrassment.

Matsumoto's eyes lit up at the challenge. "Leave it to me. I will make you look irresistible." Rangiku walked to her friend's closet and went through her clothes.

Nanao laughed as her friend started throwing things around her room. She was going to make her clean up the mess she was making. She got up and remade her bed before sitting back down and waiting. 'This may take a while.'

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Please leave a question or a comment.


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~Nanao's quarters~

The room was a complete mess, and not just the bedroom. Dresses were thrown over the couches, shoes scattered across the floor, shirts, skirts and jeans on the kitchen counter, and so many sets of undergarments on the bed. It was chaos.

"You are so cleaning this up Ran-chan." Nanao looked around her living space and spotted the time in the clock, 3:37. She had about four and a half hours till her date. "What do you think?" She held up a black dress the was form fitting and strapless.

"It's nice, but let's start with what you're going to wear under it." Rangiku gave her friend a wink as she walked back into the bedroom. She grabbed a pink bra and panties. "He would love to see you in pink. I'm surprised you have so many sets of pink ones. You have nothing pink in the rest of your wardrobe."

Nanao blushed a bit. "It's just not my color, and those were the only ones in my size. Besides, I'm going to have to go shopping for a new wardrobe. I doubt most of the things I have still fit." She had one bra that fit, the one she was currently wearing. "I can always go back to the old fashion binding. I think I still have one somewhere in my closet."

"Or you could not wear one. I'm sure he would love that too." Rangiku winked at her again.

"I'm not going to be doing anything like that! It's our fist date." Nanao didn't want to admit what she was actually hoping for. "I guess I can try on a few and try to find one that still fits." She grabbed the pink bra from her friend. It was her only front clasp bra that she had in her drawers. It was her favourite, and now she had two front clasp bras.

Rangiku gasped when her friend walked out of the bathroom to ask for her friend's opinion. "What happened to your shoulder?"

Nanao walked back into the bathroom and looked at the spot in the mirror. It was easy to find, it was the only flawed part of her skin. She could easily make out the five point star that used to be there. She felt like vomiting. "I can't let him see that. Stupid bastards."

Nano clutched the edge of the sink. There went most of her choices for what to wear that evening, and her plans for after diner. She could feel tears prickling her eyes.

"Nanao." Rangiku spoke softly. "I think I know how to cover that up." When Nanao made eye contact with her she smiled. "How do you feel about tattoos?"

Nanao smiled at her friend. "I think I know exactly what what to cover it with. You know one nearby that can be done before seven?" Nanao put her uniform back on and followed her friend.

~Shunsui's house~

Shunsui was in full swing of cooking. He had appetizers in the oven and the main course ready to go once they were done. He had dessert cooling in the fridge and was now selecting the perfect wine for the evening.

"I wonder which one would be best. Maybe a rosé would be best. I'm not sure what she likes." Shunsui set the bottle in the fridge to chill it. He decided he had enough time to take a shower and change. He had been working all day. "Haha. I quite like this kind of work."

He was stil smiling when he got out of the bathroom. He put on one of his less vibrant pink yukatas. His pink ones were the most comfortable ones. This one was a deep magenta with Sakura tree branches on it. He looked up at the clock as he set the wine and glasses on the table in the living room and saw it was five to eight. 'Nanao-chan should be here soon.'

'Yeah we're here.' He frowned when he heard the voice in his head. 'Gosh you need to remember better. If you don't I will kick your-'

"Shut up Chishitoge." Nanao spoke out loud from the porch.

Shunsui opened the door to see his beautiful Nanao standing there with an angry look on her face. "Sorry for him. He has a problem with his manners."

'Someone has to when you're so uptight.' Nanao growled a bit at the cat's response. The two started a growling match.

Shunsui didn't really notice. He was to busy looking at Nanao. She wore a pair of little black flats and a red dress that clung to her body in all the right places. Her hair was as messy as it was earlier and it looked like she had a bit of make up on. Only some subtle eye shadow, and lip gloss by the look of it. 'I wonder what it tastes like?'

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Nanao warned the cat with a spike of her Reiatsu. Shunsui smiled at the level the spike went to. "Nanao-chan has been keeping secrets. She's almost as powerful as me." He pulled her into the house and his arms as he brought his lips down and kissed her passionately. "Nanao-chan tastes like cherries. My favourite." He leaned down and kissed her again.

Nanao couldn't help but smile at him. He was irresistible when he was flirting in his childish speech.

He led her to the living room and sat her down on some of the pillows. "Be right back." He walked into the kitchen just as the oven told him it was warm enough for the main course. He slid the lasagna into the oven and then picked up the plate with some still hot mini quiche.

Nanao could smell the food from the living room. Her mouth was watering. 'Smells like all kinds of deliciousness. I wonder if I had any allergies in this world. I'm allergic to nuts in mine. Maybe I should have told him that?' Nanao lounged on the pillows and looked around the room. She smiled to see it was somewhat clean. 'Better than it normally is.'

"Quiche my dear?" Shunsui laid the plate on the low table in front of Nanao as he sat down beside her. He sat fairly close, but still left some space between them. He picked up a quiche and took a bite, it was pleasantly warm.

Nanao was having trouble holding back. He was sitting so close, yet not close enough. She could just barely catch his scent, it was driving her crazy. She watched as he took a bite out of a quiche and smiled presently at it. 'Game on.' She leaned up and took the rest of the quiche out of his hand. She smiled at his shocked face. "It's good." She picked up one another one.

Shunsui was surprised at her actions. He saw the playful glint in her eyes. 'Two can play at that game.' As she bit into another quiche he leaned his face close and took the uneaten part form her lips. Sparks flew as their lips brushed past each other. "That one was sweeter than the rest. My Nanao-chan makes everything sweeter." He nozzles into her neck against her ticklish spot. He smiled at the giggle that escaped her lips.

Nanao rolled her eyes a bit. "If we keep going like this, we won't make it through dinner." She leaned back on the pillows. Shunsui leaned over her and kissed her gently. "Can I have another quiche?"

Shunsui smiled as he picked one up and held it in front of Nanao's mouth. She took a small bit and closed her eyes enjoying the taste. He couldn't help but smile at her, she looked so cute. He leaned down to kiss her again, but the timer on the lasagna beeped. "Looks like dinner is ready." He got up and walked to the kitchen as Nanao sat up and ate another quiche.

Nanao loved the flavour of the quiche. They were rich and had a kick to them, she quite loved spicy things. Especially in her chocolate, his chocolate eyes.

'Calm down there kitten.' Nanao frowned at Katen Kyokotsu's comment. 'Both of you kittens.' Nanao realized how both of them had been yelling at Chishitoge, the zanpakutou were speaking to them both at the same time.

'You both could probably speak to each other if you tried.' Chishitoge teased them. Nanao could feel herself blush, and to her surprised she heard a deep barrel laugh. She knew it was Shunsui's, but it didn't come from the kitchen, it came from her mind. 'Looks like he has already figured it out. You should probably keep your thoughts silent, Nanao-chan. Otherwise I doubt you two would ever leave the bedroom.'

Shunsui chose that moment to walk into the room. He couldn't help but chuckle at Nanao's facial expression. "Nanao-chan's face is priceless." He set down the food and sat down behind her so she was between his legs. He easily reached for the bottle of rosé he had set out earlier and poured two glasses. "You mouth will get dry if you leave it open." He kissed her cheek as she shut her mouth quickly.

"A rosé? Didn't know you had such sweet wines in your home stash?" Nanao reached for one of the glasses and took a sip. She liked the taste instantly.

Shunsui smiled at her as she smiled at his wine selection. "I didn't know what my Nanao-chan would like. So I chose something sweet, but it's not that sweet is it?" He was pretty sure he had nothing over sweet in his selections of wines.

Nanao turned around and faced him. "Oh really?" She took another drink and leaned down to kiss him, passing the liquid between their locked lips.

Shunsui couldn't help but moan into her kiss. The wine did have a sweet taste, but he found the lips delivering it much sweeter. He laid back and pulled her on top of him. "Nanao-chan is getting bold." He rubbed her back while the other was draped around her waist, holding her to him.

"I just thought you wanted a taste." Nanao moved her legs to straddle him. She heard him make a sound through his chest. She smiled at the reaction. Images flipped through her head that caused her to blush a bit.

Shunsui kissed her hair. "Nanao is thinking bedroom thoughts, and we haven't even had dinner yet."

Nanao sat up at his words and he drew in a sharp breath. "Sorry. Did I hurt you?" She wasn't to sure what she was doing. She was new to intimate relationships.

"It's okay, Nanao. It's takes a lot more than that to hurt me." He leaned up on his elbows and looked at Nanao's bright purple eyes. They seemed to sparkle and glow in the dim candle light. "I think I need another drink of wine."

Nanao smiled and reached back for her glass. She took a sip and let the flavours seep into her mouth before she swallowed. "It's very good wine. I'm not sure I want to, but I guess I could spare a bit." She ran her hand along the top of the crystal, causing a note to sound with her voice.

Shunsui could think of a coherent sentence, just think of what he wanted to do to her.

Nanao was the one to laugh this time. "Now, now Shunsui. With thoughts like that, one might think you were only after my body."

Shunsui sat up and pressed his lips against her's. "I am, but what I'm after is your heart." He brushed his lips against her's

"I don't think we're going to get to your dinner." Nanao reached her hands under Shunsui's yukata and ran her hands along his chest. She kissed his neck and jaw as she made her way back to his neck.

"Don't worry. I can just reheat it later. You are going to want it then." He stood up and held Nanao's legs around his waist. He carried her to his bedroom and crawled onto the bed with her. "Are you sure you want this?"

Nanao reached under the front of her dress. *CLICK* Nanao pulled out a pink piece of fabric that was covered in Sakura blossoms. Nanao raised her eyebrows at him, then threw the bra away. "Do I have to undress myself, or would you rather do the unwrapping?"

Shunsui couldn't hold himself back. "As you wish, Nanao-chan."

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~several weeks later~

"Shunsui. Time to wake up." Nanao gently shock the large man from his sleep. "The SWA is meeting in front of the Senkaimon in 10 minutes." She expertly avoided his arms as he tried to pull her back down onto the bed. "I'm wearing the bikini you bought me."

Nanao laughed when he shunpoed out of bed and into the bathroom. He emerge a minute later dress for their outing, with his pink kimono and sakkat on as well. "My Nanao-chan looks so cute in a sundress. Covering up so no other man can see her cute bikini as well, so cute." Shunsui was looking forward to the beach event for weeks, just not the early start.

Nanao shook her head at his childishness. "Come on. We don't want to be late, Taichou." Nanao was glad they had stayed up late finishing their portion of today's paperwork.

"That is most certainly not something you are known for, and I would hate to tarnish your reputation. And you called me Taichou, Nanao-chan is being cold this morning." Shunsui picked up Nanao and shunpoed to the Senkaimon. He set her down on her feet.

Nanao glared up at him. "I can keep up with you just fine! You didn't have to do that!"

Shunsui smiled down at Nanao. "Hard to find something to say other than 'It's inappropriate.', ne?" He kissed the top of her head as he pulled her close to him.

Nanao rolled her eyes as she slipped into her professional self as others began to arrive. "Nume-san. Do you have the roster with you?" She took the clip board from the SWA secretary. She went through the list and checked off members that were present as they showed up. "Can I have all guests report to me with their inviters?"

Soon Nanao had all of the men who were joining them on another list. There were quite a few more than their last beach outing. She did one last quick check of the main list before determining that they were ready to depart.

She turned to Shunsui in a very professional manner. "We are ready to depart, Kyoraku-Soutaichou."

Shunsui smiled, he liked to see Nanao get back into her old self after what happened. "Nanao-chan is being too formal." He went to pat her head, but was swatted away by the clipboard in her hands. "Nanao-chan is being so cold. Let's get going so she can warm up in the sun while I rub lotion into her fair skin." Shunsui turned towards the gate and moved quickly towards it to avoid Nanao's second attack.

"Taichou!" Nanao followed swiftly after him, not caring about the snickers that she heard. She could deal with them later. "Shunsui!" Nanao caught up to him and tackled him out of the other side of the gate. They tumbled for a good distance, but Nanao never came in contact with the ground. Nanao ended up on top of Shunsui in the end. "Don't say things like that in front of everyone! It's embarrassing and inappro-"

Shunsui swiftly pressed his lips against hers. She calmed down almost instantly. He had figured out how effective it was while she was yelling at him about having sex in the office. He chuckled at the irony. "Is that better, Nanao-chan?"

Nanao took two deep breaths. "I'm still mad at you, but I forgive you." She looked away from his face. She knew she was blushing madly. She stood as she saw others begin to walk out of the gate. "We should head over."

Shunsui got up and followed after her. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. "Nanao-chan has gotten faster. I may need to find out just how fast."

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough." Nanao smirked at him as she slid his arm off her shoulder and walked towards the group. "We have the entire beach till 7:00. So please stay on the beach and if you leave please inform me before hand. There will be consequence for any who do not follow said rules." She let out a bit of killing aura to add to the glare she was giving. She quickly switched to a smile. "Please enjoy your day."

Most people would have been startled by her change in moods. The Ise Nanao they knew did not act like that, but they also didn't know about her past. But that had been remedied at a meeting where she explained who she was, completely. Most didn't believe and some felt hurt by her words, but they all accepted her as their friend. Nanao was grateful for their friendship.

Shunsui wrapped his arms around Nanao's shoulders. "Shall we go for a swim, Nanao-chan?" He walked closer to the water with their beach bag over one hand and the other around Nanao's shoulder still. He layed down the blanket and removed his shirt.

Nanao drew in a sharp breath as his muscles flexed with the movement. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. She let her eyes wander up his body till it reached his face. She smiled at the grin he had on and stared happily into his rich, chocolate brown eyes. She loved having those eyes watch her.

Nanao pulled the short sleeved sun dress off over her head. She dropped in onto the blanket then fixed her bikini. It was bright pink and had a mini skirt for bottoms with polka dots. She had been surprised when Shunsui had given it to her, slightly less surprised that he had gotten it in the right size.

"Nanao-chan looks so cute, but she'll burn if I don't put sun cream on her." Shunsui pulled her close to him as he fell backwards onto the blanket. He chuckled a bit when Nanao squeaked and clung to him as they fell. "Nanao is even cuter when she worries about me."

"DON'T DO THAT! You could have hurt yourself!" Nanao hated it when he did things like that. He had done it a few times, but they had all been onto something much softer that sand.

"I didn't know any other ways to get you to lie down." Shunsui rolled over so she was beneath him. He pulled out a bottle of sun protection from their beach bag.

"Just don't do that again." Nanao growled at him as she turned over. She let him have this win, but she was going to get back at him. She relaxed as he applied the sun cream and messages her at the same time, she loved his massages.

Shunsui leaned down to Nanao's ear. "I need you to turn over so I can get the front of you as well. I would hate for Nanao-chan to get a sunburn on her sensitive stomach."

Nanao was to relaxed to do anything but obey his words, he was to good at making her relax. "What made you decide to get a tattoo?" Shunsui was wondering when she had gotten the little, pink Sakura on her shoulder.

"Just a spur of the moment thing. I wanted to remember who my first love was." Nanao wasn't paying attention. She was enjoying the feel of Shunsui's rough hands on her body.

Shunsui looked at her curiously. He wanted to know who her first love was. 'It's you, idiot' His eyes widened as he heard Nanao speak, but her lips not move. 'I figured out how to use our inner world to talk to you. Now I can lecture you or tell you to do your work where ever you might be.'

"At least I do a bit of work now." Shunsui had decided he would do his share of the paperwork, as long as Nanao massaged his shoulders as he did it. She had hands almost as skilled as he did, and she knew exactly what places were most sore. Plus she could use healing kidos at the same time. "Feeling better?"

He laid down beside her when he got no reply. He could tell by the calmness in her Reiatsu that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and pulled her close to him. She snuggled onto his chest and smiled as she continued to sleep. He placed his kimono over her and tipped his sakkat over his face. Perfect time for a nap.

Neither of them noticed the confused looks they were getting from everyone else on the beach.

~several hours later~

Nanao suddenly felt extremely hot. She opened her eyes to see Shunsui laying on his back and her using his chest as a pillow, his pink kimono was draped over her as a blanket. She tried to sit up, but a very strong arm was keeping her beside her lover's side. She rolled her eyes as she began running her fingers across Shunsui's chest.

"Nanao...go back to sleep." Shunsui mumbled half asleep from beneath his sakkat.

"I'm too hot to sleep. I want to go swimming." Nanao pouted at him knowing he was looking at her.

Her assumption was confirmed when he removed his arm from her waist and he sat up. "Okay." Nanao stood up and stretched, her nap had felt good.

Nanao began walking towards the water where everyone else was, but soon found herself swept off her feet. "Shunsui! What are you-"

Shunsui had picked up Nanao and fell into a wave with her. When they surfaced he had a grin on his face as Nanao clung to him. "Is my Nanao-chan pleasantly cooled off now?" He swam around with her still clinging to him.

"Don't do that again." Nanao spoke flatly as she wrapped her arms around Shunsui's neck.

Shunsui smiled at Nanao and kissed her shoulder. "Aww that's no fun." He swam towards the area where everyone was playing volley ball in the waves. "Can we join?"

"Of course, Soutaichou! You can be on our team and Nanao-san can be on Renji's" Rukia spoke as she held the volley ball on her hip. Rukia's side consisted of Matsumoto, Ikkaku, and Byakuya.

"But-" Shunsui stopped protesting when Nanao gave him a wicked grin.

"Game on, Taichou." Nanao turned and walked towards Renji, Ichigo, and Hisagi. Nanao took up her position in the back beside Renji.

Shunsui frowned, he didn't want Nanao on a team with only men. He smiled a little when she shot him a smile and waited for the game to start. "Game on." He walked over to Rukia's team and took a position in front of the net.

"Game start! First to ten points wins!" Isane sat at the water's edge as the referee of the game.

At her word the ball went flying Nanao bounced it up and Ichigo spiked it over. Rukia caught it and Shunsui sent it back over. Renji spiked it down for the first point.

After almost an hour, the score was tied 9-9. Neither side was giving in.

Nanao served and sent it straight to Byakuya. He sent it back over the net. Hisagi spiked it and Matsumoto bounced it up. Shunsui spiked it over hoping to end the match, but Nanao hadn't given up yet. She stepped her foot out and the ball bounced off it. Renji sent it back to Rukia's team. Rukia intended to bounce it up, but it went higher than she had intended.

Nanao saw an opportunity. "Abarai!" Renji got the idea of what she was planning. He held his hand down and threw her skywards once her foot was in his hands. "Game over!" Nanao spiked the ball back down onto the other side. The force of the hit caused a fairly large tidal wave. Nanao landed easily on the beach.

"Um...win...Renji's team." Isane was soaked from the wave and shocked by the force of the hit.

"Nice spike Ise-san!" Renji congratulated his team mate. He wasn't too mad about getting hit by the wave, their win made up for it.

"Nanao-san! That wasn't nice." A soaked Rangiku walked out of the water holding the volley ball. "Now I have to redo my hair all over again."

"Don't you redo it everyday?" Nanao smiled at her friend. She noticed a smiling Rukia and a fairly grumpy Byakuya walk up the beach. "Where's Kyoraku-Taichou?"

"Aww my Nanao-chan was worried about me?" Shunsui wrapped his arms around Nanao's shoulders. "Nanao was a strong arm on her."

"Of course. How else would I get you home after getting drunk and passing out at a bar?" Nanao chuckled remembering the many times she had done that. A few times she had to pry a woman off him. Those ones had been fairly unpleasant, but she was allowed to be rough with them. "It's almost time to go. I'm go into dry off and take another nap."

Shunsui stopped her from moving. "Why don't I just take you home? Then you can just go to bed."

"But I have to make sure everyone gets back. I can't just leave. I have obligations I need to fulfill." Nanao really wanted to go home with him, but she couldn't disregard her responsibilities.

"Nanao-san." All eyes turned to the 13th squad Taichou. "We can take care of it. We have the list and you seem very tired as of late. You should go home and rest."

"You heard Juu. See you all tomorrow." With that said, Shunsui packed up their beach bag, picked Nanao up and draped her over his shoulder, and journeyed back to Soul Society.

Everyone watched them as they left. "It's nice to see them finally together." Everyone turned back to Ukitake. He just smiled, then returned to his blanket and book.

Everyone returned to whatever they were doing. All were smiling at how glad they were that the pair had finally gotten together.

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Please leave a comment or question.


	13. Chapter 13

Valentine's day story! I do not own Bleach.

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~Soutaichou office~

"Here." Kyoraku looked at the red heart shaped box that was now on his paperwork.

Shunsui looked up to see Nanao walking back to her own desk. He quickly got up and hugged her befor she sat down. "My lovely Nanao-chan made me Valentine's chocolate!"

"Well yeah. I always make you chocolate." Nanao had been giving him chocolate on Valentine's day since she became his Fukutaichou. "It's nothing new."

"True, but those one all said 'Obligation' on them. I wonder what this one says." He skipped back to his desk and gently opened the box. He smiled when he saw the chocolate. He broke off a piece and munched on it while he walked back to Nanao's desk. "I love you too, Nanao." He kissed her with her chocolate still in his mouth.

Nanao smiled at him. "The chocolate is meant for you. I already had too much of it while I made it." She had eaten the equivalent of at least four of the chocolate hearts while making the perfect one for him.

Shunsui smiled at Nanao with a bit of worry, she had been eaten a lot more than normally and sleeping more as well. "But it tastes sweeter with my Nanao-chan."

"Wait till you hit a pocket or a vein. Then let me know how sweet it is." Nanao gathered papers from her drawers and walked back to the door. "I have planning for the SWA party tonight. I'll see you there."

Shunsui watched her leave. 'There's a party? Why haven't I heard about it? How did she keep it a secret?' He knew he wasn't going to get anymore work done, so he headed off to visit 13th squad. "Juu! Nanao-chan is keeping secrets from me." He fell on the porch beside his friend.

Jushiro looked up from his cup of tea and sighed. "What kind of secrets?" He took another sip of tea.

Shunsui dangled his feet off the edge of the porch into the pond. "She was planning a party and didn't tell me about it till today."

Jushiro sighed again. "Is that it?"

"What do you mean is that? Nanao-chan is keeping secrets from me. She's also been acting strange lately." Shunsui could pick up a few things, but most of the time it was while it was just the two of them.

"Many woman keep secrets from their lovers. They prefer to keep somethings private. And I'm not sure what is classified as strange now." Jushiro poured himself another cup of tea, hoping it would help with his headache as well as his sickness. "Have you tried asking her if anything was wrong?"

"Well...no." Shunsui scratched at his beard. He needed to shave. He noticed Jushiro sigh and get up to make himself more tea.

"IDIOT!" Jushiro kicked his friend into the pond. He waited till Shunsui surfaced and looked at him till he continued. "If you think there is something wrong, then ask her about it! I know you don't want this relationship you have with Namao-san to be a fleeting thing, so work at it! Stop being lazy!"

Shunsui looked at his friend with shocked surprise. He had actually kicked him, but he was right. "Thank you, Jushiro." He walked out of the pond covered in mud and weeds. "Should probably get cleaned up before the party."

"Yes, you should. Make sure you talk to her. Otherwise I might send you for another swim." Jushiro sat down again as his friend left to change.

~SWA meeting~

Nanao stood at the front of the room with a clipboard and a list. Oh how she loved this list in particular. "Kichiki-Fukutaichou, how are the ice sculptures going?"

"Hitsugaya-Taichou and myself have finished them and they are currently being preserved for this evening." Rukia stood as she gave her report.

"Good." Nanao ticked ice sculptures off the list. "Kurotsuchi-Fukutaichou?"

"The heating units have been delivered and are being set up as we speak." Nemu just sat where she was.

Nanao made another tick mark. "That appears to be almost everything. All that's left is to decide the wardrobe for this evening." Nanao wasn't too happy about this. She would have rather chosen her own outfit for the evening.

"PINK DRESSES!" Nanao looked towards the pink haired SWA President. "We just need to decide who gets which dress." Yachiru pulled a large rack of dresses into the room.

"Ise-Fukutaichou." Everyone turned to see a messenger kneeling in the doorway. "This is from the Soutaichou." He held out what looked like a letter.

Nanao walked over and took the letter from his hand. "Thank you." She opened it as the messenger left. 'What is Shunsui doing? Using squad messengers to send love notes?' She scanned through the letter and stopped halfway through and stiffened.

Rangiku noticed the change in body language of her friend. "Nanao-chan? Is everything okay?"

Nanao crumpled the letter in one hand. "Please pick a dress for me, Matsumoto-Fukutaichou. I have business to discuss with Kyoraku-Soutaichou." She stormed out of the room and headed straight for where his Reiatsu was, his house.

Shunsui could feel her strong Reiatsu and knew she was angry. 'Please don't be looking for me.' He opened the his bathroom door and was nearly pushed back by the strong Reiatsu coming off the girl in his bedroom. "Nanao-chan has gotten very fast. I thought you were at the meeting. That's a very far distance to travel."

"WHAT THE HELL SHUNSUI!" Nanao didn't bother restricting her Reiatsu. "First you tell me you can't live without me when you took me with you to 1st squad! And now you want to send me back to 8th squad, and to take your position no less! Why the hell would you think I would accept that?!" Nanao held the crumpled letter in her fist.

"Calm down Nanao. You might crush someone if you let loose like this." He placed his hands on her shoulder. He waited till she had gotten control over her Reiatsu before he spoke again. "It's not my position anymore, Nanao-chan. They need a Taichou, and I thought it would be best if it was someone they were familiar with. I don't want to see them fall apart, again."

Nanao couldn't look at him while hearing the hurt in his voice. She knew he cared about 8th, but all of the squads were his concern now. She leaned into his chest and breathed in his scent, grass and Sakura. She missed the sake musk a bit, but didn't dwell on it. She hadn't seen him touch sake much since he left 8th. 'Why do I want to fix that?'

"Fix what, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui looked down at the girl he was hugging to his chest.

Nanao shook her head. "Nothing. When will I be appointed Taichou?" She smiled, she missed 8th squad.

Shunsui chuckled a bit. "Just waiting for your haori to finish getting lined. I'm sure it will be tomorrow. We can tell the squad tonight? I'm sure they would love a reason to celebrate."

"Like they need a reason to party." Nanao couldn't help but laugh. 8th squad was known as the party squad. They had a party every Friday and most other nights for no reason.

Shunsui loved her laugh and the feel of her laughing against him. "True, true. I think they're depressed though. According to paperwork reports, they have been turning in paper work at least three months late."

"I'm going to fix that." Nanao pulled away from his chest and grinned. "I have to get back to my meeting. See you tonight, and don't wear a uniform. This is a party not a formal event." Nanao walked out of the room and back to her meeting.

"Sorry for running out on you guys." Nanao walked back into the SWA meeting room. She saw everyone cower away from her a bit, even Sui-Feng-Taichou. "What?"

"Ise-san can be scary at times." Nanao looked at the new 4th squad Taichou, Kotetsu Isane. "You reminded me a bit of Unahana-Taichou, but without the subtleties." She watched as everyone nodded with the tall woman. "I'm going to head back. I'm sure there are going to be a few people at the hospital." Isane winked at Nanao as she walked past her.

"You guys felt it all the way here?" Nanao looked at Rangiku for an answer.

"Yeah, but don't worry. I'm sure everyone is fine. What do you think of your dress?" Rangiku held up a dress to change the subject.

Nanao stared in shock at the dress. 'Thank you Rangiku for picking my dress!' The dress was a raspberry pink. It was pleated with a satin ribbon just below the bust with a flower on it. It was floor length with three quarter sleeves. Nanao loved it instantly.

"She likes it! Non-Glasses likes it!" Yachiru cheered as Nanao took the dress from Rangiku.

Nanao smiled at the woman around her. "Let's of our best tonight."

~several hours later~

Nanao stood at the back of the courtyard. She had a clipboard in her hands and shifted uncomfortably from one heeled foot to the other. The dress had been too long, so she had to wear tall shoes so that the hem didn't touch the ground.

She looked down at her list and began running a check through. 'Heating units are up and working. A special area has been set up for Ukitake-Taichou. The ice sculptures are nice and frozen. Dance floor is set up. Lights are up. Music is set.' She looked up from her list to see the large crowd of shinigami assembling. 'The guests are here.'

Shunsui walked into the party wearing a suit with a pink tie and the fedora that Nanao had gotten him after a mission in the human world. He noticed everyone else was out of uniform as well, but he felt out of place. 'Yamaji would have worn his uniform. He would be yelling at me for wearing this, but if he was here it wouldn't matter.' He scanned the crowd for Nanao, but was interrupted when a hand clasped not his shoulder.

"It's nice to see you look more like yourself." Jushiro had a scarf around his neck and was wearing a deep blue yukata. "The suit looks good on you, but I don't imagine you'll be wearing the jacket for long."

"Ukitake-Taichou. Glad you could make it." Nanao had kept an eye out for the Taichou so she could lead him to the spot they had prepared for him. "If you could please follow me. We set up a table for you."

"Thank you Nanao-san." Jushiro smiled at the girl. He pulled his friend with him.

Shunsui was stunned to see Nanao in a dress, a pink dress. She had nothing pink in her wardrobe other than underwear and a few bikinis. She looked stunning in it.

Nanao could feel Shunsui's gaze on her, but nothing went through his mind. 'I wonder if I broke him?' Nanao smiled at the idea, she loved fixing things as much as breaking. She stood aside once they reached the table with heating units, pillows and blanket. "Here you are. I'm sure your 3rd seats will provide you with what ever you need."

Jushiro turned to find both his 3rd seats standing behind him. "You two never leave me alone, do you?" He smiled at them as he settled down into the pillows. He was grateful for the extra heating units and the blankets. "Thank you, Nanao-san."

"Your welcome, Ukitake-Taichou." She turned to Shunsui with a smile. "8th squad was wondering if you would join them at some point during the party. They were planning to have their routine drinking contest. They wanted to know if their champion would be defending his title."

Shunsui smiled at Nanao. "I'll try to make it there. Will you be joining in the contest?"

Nanao raised an eyebrow. "If you wish to lose, I would love to join." She smirked as she turned and headed towards the tables of 8th squad members the news.

Jushiro stared at Nanao as she left. "She has definitely changed a lot. Normally she would have not told you about a drinking contest, let alone join in on it. What are you smiling at?" He saw the wide goofy grin on his friends face.

"Nanao-chan said I would lose to her in a drinking contest. I want to know if that is true. Do you know how fast her shunpo is?" Kyoraku leaned back onto his elbows as he watched Nanao walk away.

"Judging by what happened this afternoon, I would say faster than you." Jushiro had been worried for his friend when he felt Shunsui's Reiatsu being dwarfed by Nanao's.

"Pretty much. I should go and greet all of the squads before I head over to 8th squad for the contest. Work before play, as Nanao-chan says." Shunsui got up and headed to greet the other squads.

Nanao watched as Shunsui made his way to all of the squads before coming towards 8th squad. "You ready to lose, Taichou?" Nanao grinned at him as she sat on a table.

"Nanao-chan, since when did you sit on tables?" Shunsui was surprised at Nanao's behaviour.

"I have to. Otherwise the dress with touch the ground and get dirty. Now, let's start! Thank you for being the judge, Kotetsu-Taichou." Nanao smiled at the woman seated at the head of the table.

"My pleasure." Isane gave Nanao a smile as the shot glasses and bottles of sake were passed around.

"Kyoraku-Soutaihcou! Will you star the contest for us?" Enjoji, 3rd seated officer in 8th squad, stood and held his sake bottle up.

"It would be my honour." Shunsui poured himself a shot and drank it. "Your turn Nanao-chan."

Nanao had already poured herself a shot. "I know." She downed it in one gulp.

"Can I join?" Matsumoto walked towards the group. The group greeted her fondly. "Great!" Matsumoto joined in the game.

The contest continued till only Shunsui and Nanao remained. Matsumoto had fallen asleep three rounds earlier. Both had gone through about eight bottles and were almost done their ninth.

"Nanao-chan. I think we should stop." Shunsui could feel the effects of the alcohol.

Nanao smirked at him. "Not a chance." She down another shot as a challenge.

Shunsui smiled and followed suit. He smiled then stopped when he noticed Nanao had grabbed Rangiku's shot glass and downed two shots. "Getting competitive?" He finished off his bottle and they both reached for their tenth.

"You two still aren't done yet?!" Isane was surprised the two were still conscious. Especially Nanao.

"Where did you learn to drink?" Shunsui downed another shot as 8th squad cheered around the pair.

Nanao smiled as she downed another shot. "Where do you think all your half full sake bottles went after you passed out. You had a habit of only drinking them to the halfway mark before starting another."

Shunsui stared at her in disbelief. He was the one who taught her how to drink, while he was unconscious? Shunsui downed another shot, then found himself on his back.

Nanao stood over him with a glass of sake in her hand. "My win, Taichou." She downed the shot as 8th squad erupted around her.

Nanao felt a pinch in her arm. She turned and saw Isane place a needle in a case then pull another out and poke it into Shunsui's arm. "You two are going to get alcohol poisoning if you drink that much every Friday. Luckily 4th squad came up with a vaccine that cures it instantly, but it can only be used once every 48 hours. Your welcome." She walked away from the group and out to the party.

"Am I really the reason you got good at drinking. I haven't been drinking heavily since Lisa-chan disappeared." Shunsui got up from were he fell and took off his jacket, it was filthy. "And you were just..." His eyes were downcast and he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

"Yes I was a child, but I was already over one hundred years old at the time. I was actually an adult, but my powers hadn't matured yet." Nanao waved to members of 8th and walked towards backstage. She wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly.

Shunsui grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Why don't we dance?" He gently held her hand and led her to the raised dance floor. He pulled her close and they began to waltz. "I'm sorry Nanao."

"Don't be. I was actually testing a kido that I made to negate the effects of alcohol. Sadly it only works on myself and is completely impossible to prove if I used it." She smiled at Shunsui's shocked face. "I'm kidding. I was rather depressed at the time Yadomaru-sempai was the only one who treated me like an adult. It was hard to have to make everyone else take me seriously. We actually had quite a few drinking sessions together. You got too drunk every time. Always blacking out. It was sad to watch.

"So I started trying to beat you so you would run out of sake faster. Then I became your Fukutaichou. That's where my hate for sake began, but I never lost my almost intolerance to it. I know my limit. It's at around twelve bottles." Nanao had a sad smile on as she remembered the hard years after Lisa had disappeared.

"So it is my fault." Shunsui couldn't bring himself to smile or even look Nanao in the eyes.

"Shunsui." Nanao placed her hands on Shunsui's cheeks and turned his face to hers. He still wouldn't meet her gaze. "My choices are my own. I stayed with you to keep you from killing yourself. I actually knocked you out before you ever even touched your ninth bottle. The only times you did was when you got int the stash that I had diluted, and even then you only got to eleven bottles."

He finally looked at her when her Reiatsu flared up. "WOULD YOU STOP BEING DEPRESSED! I THREW A FREAKING PARTY FOR YOU ON YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY! SO STOP ACTING LIKE EVERYTHING HAS TO STAY THE SAME! SOMETHINGS SHOULD AND DO, BUT SOME THINGS SHOULDN'T!" Shunsui hadn't expected Nanao to start yelling at him. He was quite surprised. "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO CHANGE YOURSELF! I COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT, SO HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO DO THAT YOURSELF! YOU WOULDN'T EVEN DO YOUR PAPER WORK IF I DIDN'T DO SOEMTHING ABOUT IT!"

"Nanao-chan. I think you're scaring everyone." Shunsui was hoping to calm her down. Her Reiatsu was starting to get out of control, which worried him greatly. Nanao never lost control, ever.

"LIKE HELL IF I CARE RIGHT NOW! TO THINK I EVEN WORE THIS STUPID DRESS HOPING YOU WOULD AT LEAST COMPLIMENT OR TRY TO FLIRT WITH ME! YOU HAVENT BEEN ACTING LIKE YOURSELF AT ALL!" Nanao was furious, but not this furious. 'Why am I yelling at the top of my lungs?' She shock her head trying to get a grip of herself but found it just out of reach. "Is that why your sending me to another squad. Because you're tired of me."

Shunsui looked at Nanao with worry. Her Reiatsu wasn't as heavy, but it wasn't stable in the least. "Nanao. I would never tire of you." He kissed the top of her head and held her close to him. "I don't want to send you away, but your the only one I trust that will keep 8th squad how it is."

Nanao looked at his chocolate brown eyes. She couldn't help but melt back into his arms. "I'm sorry I yelled. I just feel so out of it lately. Maybe it's because I'm not getting enough sleep."

Shunsui chuckled as he kissed Nanao's hair. "You sleep from sunset to sunrise and any other chance you get. I don't think it's because you're tired. It might just be the stress. 1st is more stressful than 8th." He wished he had the paperwork load of another squad. 1st squad's paper load was much larger than he could have imagined.

"I should apologize to everyone. They probably all heard my yelling and 8th squad was probably hoping I would use a kido on you or hit you in some way." Nanao sighed as she stepped out of Shunsui's embrace. She then noticed everyone staring at her. "My apologies-"

Shunsui moved quickly to catch Nanao. He felt her Reiatsu cut off, but luckily not completely. It was just at a bare minimum. He picked her up in his arms gentle and easily located Isane running towards them.

"Let's get her to 4th squad. I'll be able to do a full diagnosis there." Isane headed of to the hospital.

"Is Boss okay, Soutaichou?" Most of 8th squad asked simultaneously.

Kyoraku smiled to his old squad. "Don't worry. Your Taichou is just a little to worked up. I'll make sure she gets better." He began walking to the gates of squad one barracks while he waited for 8th squad to realize what he said. He smiled when he heard them start to cheer and yell. He shunpoed to the hospital once he was outside the barracks.

~hospital room~

Nanao slowly opened her eyes. She noticed the blinding white and assumed she was at 4th squad.

"Nanao? You okay sweet heart?" As her eyes focused she could see Shunsui sitting in a chair across the room from where she was laying down.

"Shunsui? What happened?" Nanao tried to sit up, but found her muscles unresponsive.

'Easy there kitten. Wait till the doc comes back. She has something to tell you both.' Nanao and Shunsui both furrowed their brows at Katen Kyokotsu's words.

"Good to see you are awake, Ise-Taichou." Isane smiled at Nanao as she turned over to lay on her side.

"I'm not a Taichou yet." Nanao was glad she was able to turn sideways. Her abdomen was hurting, and it seemed to help relieve the pain a bit. "So what happened?"

Isane smiled at Nanao. "The good news is that you are completely healthy. Nothing irregular at all. Which is especially good considering what you were doing at the party. Luckily your kido and the vaccine helped keep the alcohol away from the baby-"

"What baby?" Nanao suddenly saw pieces click together. Sleeping a lot, larger apatite, and mood swings. "Oh my gosh." Nanao ran her hands through her hair, but couldn't help the smile that was on her face. She was pregnant, with Shunsui's child.

Shunsui lost his hearing ability after the word baby was said. 'Nanao's pregnant.'

'Yes genius. She's pregnant. Congratulations.' Shunsui didn't know to be comforted or worried about Katen Kyokotsu's words.

'How long have you known?' Shunsui wanted to know how his zanpakutou had known what Isane was going to say.

'Since the beginning. So about a month and a half ago. The little bugger is quite a handful.' Shunsui didn't know what his zanpakutou was talking about.

"I'll leave you two to discuss it with each other." Shunsui looked back at the Taichou as she walked out of the room.

Shunsui looked towards Nanao. She had a childish grin on her face. He couldn't help but smile with her. "We're going to have a baby. Shunsui, we're going to have a baby!" Nanao couldn't help but be excited.

Shunsui walked over to her and picked her up bridal style he kissed her as he sat down on the bed. "Yep. I'm guessing you want the baby?"

"OF COURSE I WANT THE BABY! It's mine and yours. Why wouldn't i want it?" Nanao had tears of happiness running down her face. "Now we are going to have to work out how this is going to fit with being a Taichou. I should probably get a Fukutaichou to help. That will make things a lot easier. I wonder if Yadomaru-sempai would accept her old position back."

Shunsui chuckled at her train of thought. "That's my Nanao-chan. Always thinking ahead and planning." He kissed her again before carrying her out of the room. "I'm taking Nanao-chan home. I'll make sure she gets lots of rest and stays away from any sake." He spoke to Isane as they passed in The hallway.

"Bring her back in a few weeks for another check up and so we can set all of her future appointments. Rest well, Ise-Taichou." Isane waved the couple off with a smile.

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	14. Chapter 14

White Day! I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~Shunsui's house~

"WOULD YOU CALM DOWN!" Nanao was lying down on the couch with six pillows, five blankets, and Shunsui's pink kimono. "I'M NOT SICK AND DYING!"

"But I want to spoil my Nanao-chan. She is carrying my child. I want to spoil them both." Shunsui kissed Nanao's forehead before heading towards the kitchen.

"It's only been a month since we found out about the baby. I still have paperwork I need to finish back at 8th." Nanao pushed all of the blankets off of her and walked to the door. She was stopped when Shunsui wrapped his arms around her. "Don't you have your own work to do?"

"I finished them this morning while you were still sleeping. That way I can be with you all day." Shunsui kissed her cheek and smiled at her.

"Since when did you get up before me?" Nanao looked at him in disbelief. "If you insist on being with me all day, then why don't you come with me. I'm sure everyone would love to see you again." Nanao hoped he would accept so she could get back to work.

"Okay. Let's go!" Shunsui picked Nanao up and shunpoed to the gates of 8th squad.

"WARN ME WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT!" Nanao glared at Shunsui as they walked into the squad area. "You can put me down now. I am capable of walking."

"But Kotetsu-Taichou said for you to get lots of rest." Shunsui smiled as he walked the familiar path to the 8th squad Taichou/Fukutaichou office.

"Since when did you listen to anything anyone told you!?" Nanao had given up trying to get him to let her down. So she waited till they got to the office and he set her down. "Why don't you lay on the couch while I finish up my paperwork? Enjoji-san? Where is Yadomaru-Fukutaichou?"

"Here Nanao-chan!" Lisa wrapped her arms around Nanao and spun around with her. Shunsui stopped her by pulling Nanao out of her arms. "I should have known you were the reason she didn't come in at her regular time this morning, Shunsui." Lisa pushed her bottom lip out in mock anger.

"Nanao-chan was tired. How could I refuse her, her beauty sleep and send her off to do paperwork?" Shunsui had put Nanao back on her feet and was hugging her.

"Don't I get a say in this?!" Nanao was getting tired of being ignored. "Can you please let go of me so I can get back to work, Kyoraku-Soutaichou?" She nearly growled at him.

"But my Nanao-chan should relax. I'm sure Lisa-chan can handle the paperwork." Shunsui pouted and continued to hold her, even as she tried to push him away.

"There are a few things that need Ise-Taichou's signature." Lisa spoke not really caring about the outcome of their struggling. She knew what was going to happen.

"Let. Go." Nanao threatened before unleashing a kido that sent Shunsui through the wall behind him onto the porch.

No one was really worried about Kyoraku. This had happened a few times back when he was 8th squad Taichou. So it wasn't a new sight for the older members of 8th squad. A few of the newbies were worried.

~several hours later~

"Are you done now, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui had been asking every ten minutes for the past...Nanao wasn't quite sure when he had started, but it was annoying her.

Nanao put down her pen and walked around her desk. She stood over Shunsui, since he was lying down on the floor, she looked at him with an unimpressed look. "Yes. Now I am done."

Shunsui jumped up and picked Nanao up bridal style. "Perfect! Now I can finally take you out to dinner." He used his shunpo till they were outside the nicest restaurant in Seireitei.

Nanao was glad he let her down as soon as they got there. "Such a fancy place and I'm only dressed in my uniform. You should have given me time to change."

"You look beautiful." Shunsui kissed her forehead and led her inside. Once they were in the restaurant, they were led to a private room with a low table and cushions. "Isn't this lovely, Nanao-chan?"

Nanao couldn't help but smile at him. She followed him to the pillows and fell backwards onto them. Shunsui caught her before she hit the pillows. "I think you need to relax, Shunsui." She kissed his brow as he laid her down gently on the pillows.

"Just making sure my lovely Nanao-chan doesn't get hurt." Shunsui leaned over her and kissed her lips gently.

Nanao couldn't stand the gentleness anymore. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened their kiss. They both pulled away gasping for air. "I don't get hurt easily, Taichou."

Shunsui smiled down at Nanao. They didn't speak until steaming plates of food were brought in. They were all arranged on the table while Shunsui sat up with Nanao still laying down.

Nanao sat up once the servers had left the room. "You know, most guys just give chocolate."

Shunsui gave her an exaggerated frown. "But my Nanao-chan gave me such a hard gift to top. It was priceless."

"It was just a party and home made chocolate. Nothing that-" Nanao was cut off by another kiss.

Shunsui held her face in his hands. "You gave me a family. I'm so happy." He smiled and hugged her close to him.

Nanao smiled and snuggled close to his chest. "You're such a romantic."

"Of course. I want to make sure my Nanao-chan feels loved. Especially when she is carrying something special." He pulled her into his lap and laid his hand over her stomach. "What would you like to eat first?"

Nanao looked over all the food. "Dessert." She pulled a piece of cake close to her and took a bit. "Yep. Always eat dessert first." She held out a bit for Shunsui.

He took the whole piece in his mouth and licked her fingers clean. "Nanao-chan is so sweet." He kissed her neck and rested his chin on her shoulder.

Nanao blushed, but she didn't really mind. Shunsui would be the only one to see it. "Any reason why you decided to take me out to dinner instead of cooking at home?" She finished of the cake and pulled a pie towards her.

"I wanted to ask you something and I wanted to spend more time with you. If I had cooked, then I would have had to be away from my Nanao-chan." He kissed her neck again and leaned her back so she was leaning against him instead of sitting up straight.

Nanao leaned back and just stared at him. His chocolate eyes looking at her sweetly. She just waited for him to say something.

Shunsui couldn't pull his eyes away from Nanao's purple orbs, but he didn't want to look away from them. "Ise Nanao, will you marry me?" He smiled as he saw shock in Nanao's eyes and a smile on her lips.

Nanao wrapped an arm behind Shunsui's neck and turned her head. She pulled him down into a kiss that felt like it lasted for eternity. When she spoke, her voice was just a whisper, "yes."

Shunsui just hugged and kissed her again. "You going to throw another party?"

Nanao pulled out her spirit phone and started typing. She looked at him when she had closed the phone. "Nope. I'm going to leave that to the squad. I'm also going to tell them the other bit of news. I'm sure you already told Ukitake-Taichou about it. I doubt you would keep something like this from your best friend."

"No. I was waiting for permission." Shunsui smiled and snuggled into her neck.

"You didn't have to." Nanao tried to suppress a yawn, but Shunsui still caught it.

Shunsui shook his head and looked over the table and saw all of the food gone. "When did that happen?"

Nanao laid back onto the pillows and wrapped herself in her Taichou haori. "You should pay more attention." She yawned again, but didn't try to hide it.

Shunsui gently picked her up and carried her home. He easily undressed her and tucked her into bed. He followed suit and crawled in beside her and pulled her close so her back was against his chest. He kissed her neck gently. "I love you, Nanao."

Nanao smiled in her sleep as she cuddled closer to him. Her smile grew when Shunsui's hand came to rest on her stomach.

~the next day~

Nanao woke up suddenly at dawn. She tried to move, but found Shunsui stopping her. "Shunsui, I need to get to the bathroom." She held her hand over her mouth before finding the room spinning and the toilet in front of her.

"Fourth time this week. Maybe we should go to Kotetsu-san about a remedy?" Shunsui sat on the edge of the bathtub with a worried look on his face.

Nanao went to the sink to wash her mouth out. She dried her face off and breathed heavily trying to get her emotions to calm down. "I don't want to bother her with something as small as morning sickness. Besides, it should go away in a few weeks." She walked back into the bedroom and started getting ready for work.

Shunsui wrapped his arms around her waist while she was trying to get her uniform tied. "You should rest more. You fell asleep at the restaurant after eating all of the food."

"I offered you some, but you told me to eat as much as I wanted." Nanao leaned back against his chest. She could feel his warmth through her clothes. "I have to get to work. Despite what i said yesterday, I still have paperwork to finish."

"Nanao-chan disregarded work to go on a date with me. I feel so loved." He kissed her neck and had a smile that reached his ears on his face.

Nanao still tried to get out of his grip, but not that hard. "If you don't let to, I will use force. Taichou." Nanao used her professional voice as she held a hand up with a lightning kido on it.

Shunsui gave her a quick kiss then backed away with a playful glint in his eyes.

Nanao pulled her haori over her shihakusho. "I'm off! I'll send you a butterfly when the party starts." She was about to leave when she felt a light weight on her shoulder. She looked and saw a pink kimono over her haori. "Isn't this?" She looked over towards Shunsui.

"Thought you might like an extra layer. Wouldn't want my Nanao-chan to get cold if she decides to take a nap, and now we match." Shunsui smiled at her while he pulled his pink kimono over his uniform.

Nanao looked more closely at the kimono. It had a different pattern than the regular one Shunsui normally wore. She sighed as she continued out the door shaking her head with a large grin on her shoulder.

Nanao was greeted with many compliments as she made her way to her office. "Morning, Yadomaru-san." Nanao looked around the office and found no one. "Yadomaru-san?...Lisa-san-"

Lisa grabbed the girl and was spinning around the room again. "Nanao-chan finally called me Lisa!"

"Lisa if you don't put me down I'm going to vomit!" Nanao could feel her stomach begin to unsettle again. She found her feet back on the ground and beside her desk. She leaned on it and steadied her breathing.

"Are you okay, Nanao-chan? Should I take you to 4th?" Lisa hoped her friend hadn't caught some nasty bug. She couldn't remember if Nanao had ever gotten sick, Nanao was a very tidy person.

Nanao waved her hand and walked around her desk and sat down. "No, it's nothing to serious. Just a bit of morning sickness. Don't tell the squad, I intend to do that at the party." She began working on the paperwork on her desk.

"Mor...ning...sick...ness? OH MY GOSH!" Lisa ran around Nanao's desk and hugged her neck. "You actually did it with the old pervert? It's good to see you two happy, and finally together. Is this his kimono?"

"No his has more colours on it. This one is just pink with bubbles. He thought I might be cold if I decided to take a nap. It's actually quite nice to have it on. I can see why he wore one all those years. Still don't get why it had to be pink though. And he is not a pervert!" Nanao managed to get Lisa's arms off her neck and was back to the form she was working on.

Lisa walked back to her desk and sat on top of it. "The party is in about five minutes." Lisa spoke in a monotone voice while she looked out the window of the office.

"WHAT!" Nanao didn't see the large mark she drew across he page, her focus was on her Fukutaichou. "When was this decided?!"

Lisa went through the messages in her spirit phone. "You told me to plan a party. You didn't say when, so I decided today."

"IN THE MORNING!" Nanao ran a hand through her hair.

"It's past noon actually." Lisa walked around Nanao's desk and was lifting her out of her chair. "Now come along Taichou. You should be at your own party."

"Nanao-chan! Lovely lovely Nanao-chan!" Shunsui opened the door to the office and found Lisa and Nanao opening it from the other side. "Morning Lisa-chan."

"Morning old man." Lisa wrapped her arms around one of Nanao's as they walked out of the office.

As they walked down the hall, they could hear the party. Nanao looked forward with worry. "Did you invite other squads?" Nanao could pick up multiple Reiatsus that she did not recognize.

"No. I invited everyone from Seireitei." Lisa didn't see what the problem was. Everyone probably wanted to know that they were finally getting married, so why not just invite everyone instead of having rumours spread.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!" Nanao could have guessed that the silence and laughter up ahead meant the they had heard her. She sighed in defeat.

Shunsui walked up beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist. "It's okay. I'll be right there beside you." He kissed her forehead as they walked into the room.

Silence filled their entry as Lisa left them with everyone's attention. Nanao felt like she was either going to vomit or faint. Neither of which she wanted to do in front of her squad.

Shunsui just smiled at everyone. He could see that Nanao wasn't going to say anything so he decided to. "NANAO-CHAN SAID YES TO MARRYING ME!"

The crowd began cheering wildly and shouting congratulations.

Nanao felt like fainting, so she leaned onto Shunsui. "You okay sweet heart?" He pulled her closer.

"Yeah, just tired." Nanao could feel a headache starting.

Shunsui smiled and picked her up bridal style. Nanao seemed to be falling asleep so he carried her to the pillows set up along one of the walls. He sat down and kept Nanao in his lap. He smiled as she snuggled into him and smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

"Any other news?" Shunsui looked up to see his long time friend standing above him.

"I'm going to let her tell that one, but if she let me I would have told you a while ago." Shunsui brushed strands of hair out of Nanao's face. 'Thought you said you weren't tired?'

'My body is, but my mind isn't.' Nanao spoke into his mind. They had figured out only a week ago how to speak to each other this way, and Nanao had quickly figured out how to block Shunsui out. 'You going to join me, or are you going to party?'

Shunsui smiled at Nanao. "Sorry Juu. Looks like my Nanao-chan requires me." He closed his eyes and rested his head closed to Nanao's as he drifted into their inner world. He opened his eyes to find a cat sitting on each shoulder. "You two the official greeters?"

"Hardly." Chishitoge hopped off his shoulder and walked up a wire to a skull. "I wanted to see what reaction you would have, but it wasn't any reaction at all. Such a disappointment." The purple cat curled up on the skull and smiled at Shunsui.

"Play nicely Chishitoge. I'm sure she wouldn't be happy if she knew you were teasing Shunsui here." Shunsui smiled as Katen Kyokotsu walked towards them. "She is waiting for you at the core. Your pleasant little brat seems to be in a playful mood."

Shunsui began walking towards the cage in the centre of the garden. As he got close he could feel Nanao's Reiatsu, and another one. His smile grew as he got closer. "Lovely, sweet, beautiful Nanao-chan! Your Shunsui is here!"

Nanao rolled her eyes as Shunsui walked into the cage. The white mist that swirled around her began to envelop him as he walked in. "He's happy to see you." The Reiatsu surrounding the two pulled them together. Nanao let more of her Reiatsu mix with it as Shunsui did the same. "He's going to be very powerful, just like his father."

"But he also has a very powerful mother. Although I'm not sure if she is stronger than me or not, but she is most certainly smarter." He kissed her gently as he wrapped his arms around her. The mist seemed to create fireworks around them.

"Mischievous and playful like you." Nanao curled her Reiatsu around the one of her child. It seemed to relax and draw closer to them. "He likes it when we do this."

Shunsui wrapped his Reiatsu around both mother and child. "I like it too. I get to hold you both." He felt someone trying to stir him in the outside world. "Looks like someone else needs me." Shunsui pouted as his son's Reiatsu swirled around him trying to comfort him. "It's okay, little one. I'll be back. Take care of your mother. Don't worry about waking up when the party is over." He kissed Nanao before leaving their inner world.

Shunsui opened his eyes slowly as he saw his friend sitting beside him with a nervous glance. "What's the matter Juu-chan?"

"Your mother is here." Jushiro didn't mind his friend using his unwelcomed nickname, worse things were about to happen.

Shunsui nearly panicked. 'Calm down. I'm joining you.' He turned to Nanao as she stirred from her sleep. "Why now of all times? Don't get me wrong. I love your family, but your mother is a bit...overzealous." Nanao couldn't think of a better word for Shunsui's mother.

"I think she is rather sweet." Jushiro had met Kyoraku Shinsi many times while he roomed with Shunsui at the Academy. "What would make you say that about her?"

"She asked me if I was pregnant yet when we were first introduced. Then she asked when I was planning on getting pregnant. Stop laughing, it was embarrassing." Nanao slapped Shunsui across his arm as he started laughing.

"Don't feel bad. Mom does that with every girl my brother introduced to her. You were the first girl I brought home, so she was a bit over excited." Shunsui helped Nanao to her feet.

"She took me to a clinic to make sure I wasn't barren, then got me pills so that I could conceive better. Does she want grandchildren that badly?" Nanao's cheeks were bright red.

Shunsui chuckled at his mother's antics. "No she just wants a family heir, since me and my brother don't really want the position of family head. She sort of made it a contest. First to have an heir is leader of the family. I never really cared much though. Being a noble is so boring and frustrating."

"And getting headaches and almost killed is better?" All three turned to see a woman dressed on a very fine silk kimono with her dark hair pinned back neatly. "It's so good to see you again, Jushiro-kun. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, Kyoraku-san. If you'll excuse me, it seems my 3rd seats are looking for me." Jushiro indicated to a pair of heads jumping up and down trying to spot their Taichou's white hair. Jushiro ran off in the other direction.

"Such a sweet boy." Shinsi faced her son and smiled while holding her back as straight as Nanao's. Nanao had never given up her proper attitude while she was in the squad building.

"I'm guessing Obaba is here." Shunsui smiled weakly at his mother. He sighed when he got a nod from his smile.

"She's waiting in your office, your 3rd seat, I think, is looking after her." Her smile faded a little.

"Is this the grandmother that has tried to marry Shunsui off multiple times?" Nanao got a nod from both Kyorakus. "Then let's not keep her waiting. I don't want her to kill my 3rd seat." The three made their way to Nanao's office. Nanao didn't bother knocking, it was her office.

"Does no one knock?" The current head of the Kyoraku family sat with her back straight and her eyes glued to Nanao.

"Seeing as this is my office, I do not see the need, Kyoraku-sama. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Nanao sat on the couch across from the one the grey haired lady sat.

"I am actually here to visit my grandson, but I have been informed that this is no longer his office. So I am now curious as to who you are?"

Nanao felt slightly uncomfortable under her gaze, but did not let it show. "I am Ise Nanao, 8th squad Taichou and fiancée to your grandson."

Shunsui was surprised and pleased Nanao said that to his grandmother. She had set him up with multiple woman, but he couldn't remember a single one. He noticed the surprise in his mother's and grandmother's faces that they did not expect him to actually ask a woman to be his wife.

"FANTASTIC!" Shinsi rushed over to Nanao and picked her up. She began spinning around the room laughing happily. "This is wonderful! I never thought my lazy son would ever break from his womanizing ways, and to find such a lovely wonderful woman too! This is the best thing a mother could ask for. THANK YOU NANAO-CHAN!"

Nanao didn't know what to think. This was such a change in attitude that she was shocked. "Um...thank you?"

"Shinsi, if you keep that up she may get sick. Or you might disorientate her enough to hurt herself." The Obaba smiled at her daughter and future grandaughter-in-law. "You sure do chose well, Shun-chan."

Shunsui steady Nanao as she made her way towards him, he could tell she was dizzy. "Do you need to lie down?" He frowned as Nanao shook her head and curled up on his lap. "Honestly mother, can't you be a little more considerate. Nanao-chan hasn't been feeling well."

"And who's fault is that? Although I'm glad it's your fault." Nanao smiled as she kissed his stubbly cheek.

"SHE'S PREGNANT!" Shinsi yelled loudly, then slapped her hands over her mouth. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell so loud. It's just so exciting." Shinsi was having trouble keeping her feet on the ground.

They all sighed at her, then heard something like running feet coming down the hallway. It got progressively louder and the floor even felt like it was shaking.

Nanao sighed heavily. "I think they heard you." Nanao walked to the window and opened it, then sat on the sill with her legs outside. "You all may want to follow. They've done this a few times. It's not pleasant if they catch you." Nanao jumped out the window followed by Shunsui who helped his mother and grandmother. Nanao looped her arm around Shinsi's waist. "Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

Shunsui held his grandmother the same way Nanao held his mother. They shunpoed to the roof of one of the buildings. They looked at the courtyard and saw everyone trying to get into the main building.

Nano stepped close to the edge, but not too close. She didn't want Shunsui to worry too much. She whistled loudly and got everyone's attention. "WOULD YOU ALL STOP TRYING TO DESTROY MY SQUAD BUILDINGS! THIS IS A PARTY, NOT A STAMPEDE! And I have another announcement." Nanao started to blush fiercely. She had been glad Shunsui had announced the engagement, but she had wanted to announce this. She shut her eyes, not wanting to watch everyone's faces. "I'M PREGNANT WITH SHUNSUI'S CHILD!"

Nanao could hear everyone from 8th cheering loudly. The other squads joined in when the news finally sunk in. Nanao sighed in relief. She got Shinsi down from the roof easily, but her legs were shaking a bit. She walked to Shunsui and collapsed into his arms once he had gotten down from the roof. "Can we go home?" Nanao was exhausted and really didn't want to have to answer questions.

Shunsui smiled down at her. He knew it would have been hard for her to admit she was his fiancée and that she was pregnant, but she had done both in the same hour. She was exhausted, mentally and physically. "Of course." He picked her up bridal style then turned to the crowd that was assembling around them. "Sorry everyone. My Nanao-chan is tired and needs her rest. You can drop off your good wishes another day. Enjoy the rest of the party!"

When they were home, Shunsui tucked Nanao and himself into bed. Nanao curled up beside him and laid her head on his chest. She smiled as she listened to his heart beat. "We have a check up tomorrow morning." Nanao half mumbled as she started drifting off to sleep.

Shunsui kissed her forehead as his hand rubbed circles on her back. "I'll remember. Sleep well, Nanao."

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Please leave a comment or question.


	15. Chapter 15

Wedding day! I do not own Bleach.

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~Bride's room~

Nanao looked at herself in the mirror and placed her hands on her very enlarged stomach. "I don't think this was such a good idea anymore. I'm due any day. What if it happens during the reception? What if it's during the ceremony?" Nanao was starting to worry.

"Calm down and take deep breaths." Lisa placed her hands on Nanao's shoulders and looked at her through the mirror. "You can do this. Besides, Kotetsu-Taichou is here in case it does happen."

"And then the reception. What am I going to do? How am I going to act? I'm freaking out here!" Nanao stopped herself from running her hands through her hair and ruining the hours of work she had out into it.

"Don't worry. Shunsui will be there with you. He'll protect his lovely Nanao-chan. And if he doesn't, I will kill him." Lisa suddenly got a dark expression on her face.

"Calm down Lisa-san. Shunsui will always protect me, and sometimes he's a little overprotective. But I know he means well." Nanao seemed to find herself calmer after reassuring her friend.

There was a small knock at the door. Shinsi walked into the room. "The Kyoraku Kimono looks beautiful on you." She walked to Nanao and gave her a reassuring hug.

"Thank you for the honour of letting me wear it." Nanao was surprised when the woman had asked if she was okay with continuing the family tradition. Usually it was the women who continued the Kyoraku name, but there wasn't a female member of the family. They were worried the tradition would have ended.

"It's more of an honour having you join our family." She looped an arm around one of Nanao's arms as Lisa took the other. "Now let's get you married!"

The three woman walked through the manor house till they came to the family's private shrine. Both women dropped Nanao's arms and said their good byes with a kiss on the cheek. They would see her inside shortly.

Nanao took several breaths to calm herself down. She was more excited than nervous. "Just don't faint Nanao. Just don't faint. You can do this."

'Good luck Nanao-chan.' Nanao smiled as her zanpakutou cheered for her. 'Do you want us present? I'm sure they won't mind if two cats walk in with you." Chishitoge seemed to really want to participate.

'How about you all show up for the reception afterwards? Then it will be less trouble to explain and there will be other nobles families at the reception. So you can provide me with extra protection. Plus, this is a family shrine, only family and close friends were invited. No danger here.' 8th squad had been upset that Shunsui and Nanao weren't having a reception at the squad building, or even anywhere near Seireitei.

'But that's no fun.' Chishitoge whined with a purr. She knew he was happy he would get to be at the wedding. She could hear Chibara echoing his brother.

'Don't leave him waiting for too long.' Nanao smiled at Katen Kyokotsu's prompt. 'Good luck, Nanao-chan.' Nanao was glad Shunsui's zanpakutou liked her so much. She was quite find of her too.

A bell sounded from within the shrine. It was time. Nanao took another deep breath as the doors to the shrine opened and she walked in.

~reception~

Nanao stayed close to Shunsui. They walked around a bit as other nobles introduced themselves and congratulated the couple. Nanao acted as if she was in the office, poised and dignified.

Shunsui patted Nanao's arm gently. "You're better at this than I am." He was glad no one was openly putting down Nanao. He was worried some might, but it was still early in the reception. "Shall we dance? I haven't danced with my lovely Nanao-chan since that Valentine's day party she threw me, and it was mostly spent with her yelling at me."

"I said I was sorry. I was stressed and a little upset. Plus the whole raging hormones didn't help." Nanao followed Shunsui to the dance floor as another song began.

"I know it wasn't your fault. As you've said before, it is a little bit my fault. Although, it was quite amusing to see you so flustered." Shunsui smiled as he led Nanao in their dance. "How is my lovely Nanao-chan feeling?"

"I'm fine. I just have some nervous energy to burn off." She smiled up at Shunsui as they continued to dance.

Once the dance ended they walked back towards the head table. They were curious as to what the music near their was, until they for closer. Their sitting on a blanket beside their table, was Katen Kyokotsu.

"This is a pleasant surprise." Kyoraku smiled at his zanpakutou. He wasn't sure why or how they were here.

"I may have said they could show up at the reception. They were practically begging me to let them be at the shrine. So instead I told them they could come to the reception." Nanao smiled cheerfully at the zanpakutou.

"Yes. It was quite kind of her, but it would have been more fun to see the chaos that may have happened if we had walked in with her." Chishitoge sat on Shunsui's shoulder. A few gasps and squeaks of surprise were heard from some of the nearby guests. "Oops. Looks like a caused a scene." Chishitoge directed one of his grins towards a nearby group of nobles. They looked terrified.

"Chishitoge, your scaring people. If you're going to scare people, I will make you go back to Doll's Boneyard." Nanao shot a glare at her cat. "Chibara, make sure he behaves himself." Nanao scratched the black cat that was on her shoulder.

"Understood." Chibara spoke as he jumped off her shoulder and onto Shunsui's. He pushed Chishitoge off and dragged the cat to the blanket. He sat down beside his brother as Chishitoge rolled onto his back.

"Son. Who are they?" Shunsui's father clapped a hand on his youngest son's shoulder. He directed his attention to the two girls on a blanket and the two strangely coloured cats.

Shunsui smiled at his father. "These are our zanpakutou. Mine," The two girls bowed their heads. "And Nanao-chan's." The two cats grinned at the man. "They wished to join the party."

"If it is of no trouble, Kyoraku-sama." Nanao was still on formal mode. She knew she would be until they were back in Seireitei.

"Please, call me Oto-chan." The man gave her a childish grin. It was very similar to Shunsui's, but with less mischief in it. "They can stay as long as they want. They seem to scare the nobles off. Can I stay near them?"

Shunsui laughed at his father. "You still can't stand them?" The Kyoraku family was one of the higher noble families. The same status as the Kuchikis. However, no one in the family really enjoys being a noble. It was just practical.

"It's no trouble to us. Stay as long as you wish." The older Katen Kyokotsu spoke while continuing to play music.

"Wonderful." He sat down on the blanket and turned to the cats. "Hi kitty."

"Would you like me to rub against you and purr?" Chishitoge turned his head with a smiled that reached his ears, literally.

"Gah!" Nanao glared at her zanpakutou while Shunsui laughed at his father's reaction. "The cat speaks? Wasn't expecting that." He laughed at himself.

"Are you alright, Arata?" Shinsi had a worried face till she saw her husband laughing. "Don't worry me like that. Who is this?" She caught sight of the girls.

"My zanpakutou, mother." Shunsui smiled at his mother as she sat down and greeted the two girls. He pulled Nanao close to him. "I think this is going rather well. Are you okay, Nanao?" He could see a bit of sweat on Nanao's eyebrows.

Nanao was breathing heavily, she could feel a bit of discomfort in her abdomen. She could vaguely hear Shunsui's words, but she was too focused on the growing pain. When she refocused a bit she noticed that she wasn't outside anymore. She was in her room that she was given for the wedding.

"How do you feel, Nanao-san?" Isane held a hand to Nanao's stomach with a diagnostic kido on it.

"A little-gah!" Pain ripped through Nanao's lower abs. She almost fell, but Shunsui had his arms around her. He laid her down gently and held her hand. "He has excellent timing."

Shunsui laughed a little, then stopped as Nanao squeezed his hand tightly.

~5 hours later~

"Why in the world do women want to go through that more than once?" Nanao laid in bed completely exhausted. Shunsui sitting up beside her.

Shunsui smiled down at her while he held his son in his arms. "Maybe you'll find out in a few years? Or if you ever decide you may want another child." He kissed his son's forehead gently.

Nanao smiled as she started drifting off to sleep. "Maybe."

Shunsui smiled as his wife fell asleep. "Sleep well, Nanao." He felt his son stir in his arms. "Good morning, Seto-chan." Shunsui looked into his sons deep purple eyes. "Your mother is sleeping. So we need to be quiet." He whispered silently as he rocked him gently.

"Such a cute little thing." Chishitoge sat on Shunsui's shoulder. "What's his name?" He smiled at the baby and chuckled.

Shunsui smiled when his son laughed with the cat. "Kyoraku Seto." Shunsui smiled as his son sent out Reiatsu towards the cat. Shunsui let his own Reiatsu wrapped around his son's.

"To think he would turn out to be such a cute little bugger. He has Nanao-chan's original eye colour, doesn't he?" Chishitoge started making funny faces at the baby.

"Yes, he does. He seems to have gotten my hair though. Dark and unruly." Shunsui felt overjoyed just by holding his son. It was one of the happiest feelings he could remember. "How are you and your brother able to materialize so easily?"

"Nanao-chan has a lot of excess Reiatsu. If we don't use it up, it could tear her apart. That's also the reason why her kido are so powerful and she could use such high level at such a young age." The purple cat smiled sweetly as the child seemed to start to fall asleep again. "This little one is the same, but luckily he has such powerful parents to help him. He's going to be a genius like his mother, and hopefully he likes playing games too. He would be so fun to play with." Shunsui shot an evil glare at the cat. "Children's games of course. Our games are much to dangerous for a child."

Shunsui continued to eye the cat until it faded away completely. He sighed heavily. "That cat is going to get annoying."

"Tell me about it. My brother never shuts up." Shunsui was surprise to see the black cat on his other shoulder. "That's mostly why I stay quiet. The other part is because I usually don't have anything to say. I will make sure he brings no harm to Seto-sama. I doubt he will."

"Thank you, Chibara. I think this is the most you have ever said to me, or that I have ever heard you speak." Shunsui smiled at the cat. This one wasn't too bad. The purple one was trouble.

"I should go. Katen Kyokotsu would eventually like to meet Seto-sama." Chibara began to fade.

"She can visit him when ever she pleases. Just not while he is sleeping. He needs his rest as much as his mother does." Shunsui smiled at the cat.

"If you ever need us, any of us. Do not hesitate to summon us." Chibara faded completely.

'If you summon those cats when you can easily summon us, I will use a penalty game on you.' Shunsui sweat dropped as he listened to his zanpakutou's threat.

'Dont worry. I would never do that to such beautiful ladies.' Shunsui knew his zanpakutou would act on her threats. It was best not to anger her.

"Shut up." Shunsui looked down at Nanao. She was still asleep, but seemed to be stirring a bit.

Shunsui let his Reiatsu flow out and envelope the three of them. Nanao relaxed as it pulsed through her and she settled back into sleep. It also had the same effect on Seto. With a big yawn he settled into his father's arms and continued to sleep. "Sleep well, both of you." Shunsui whispered as he watched them sleep peacefully.

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